Rating of
2.5/4
Thrilling Rescue Turns Out Just Fine
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/29/16
A harrowing rescue in the worst conditions possible on a mission that most would consider a suicide run. In 1952, it just so happened that a member of the Coastguard, Bernie Webber, along with three other men, tempted that fate and made one of the most daring rescues of all time.
Disney's Finest Hours didn't make many waves at the box office. It had a quiet premiere and a quiet exit. It's too bad, as the film has gathered an excellent cast with Chris Pine taking on the role of Webber while Ben Foster, Kyle Gallner and John Magaro are the rest of his crew. Holliday Grainger takes on the role of the tough female, Miriam, while Eric Bana gets the nod as the unlikeable Coastguard chief, Daniel Cluff. Rounding out the cast as a few of the men trying to survive on half a boat are Casey Affleck, John Ortiz and Abraham Benrubi among others. The cast is solid - even if I wish Pine could emote just a bit better.
The Finest Hours does take awhile to get going. It opens with a nervous Webber about to go on a date and explore more his relationship with Miriam than anything else. Then we get to meet a few of the guys at the Chatam, Massachusetts Coastguard as they exchange words. Finally we get to the perfect storm of events that led to a pair of tankers being ripped in half. While a good chunk of the Boston Coastguard go after one ship - the second is left to whoever happens to be around - and that includes Chatam. With the waves threatening to tear apart any rescue boats, Webber is tasked with taking a small, four-man boat out - pretty much certain death - by his uncompromising commanding officer.
The action scenes are impressive. From a boat splitting apart to men working valiantly to save what is left - there is not shortage of tension in the film. Plus, with all the water and waves (and downright cold), it had to be a pretty miserable shoot - I mean, we're talking soaking wet for the better part of a nearly two hour movie. Props to the actors for giving it their all. I just wish that we had been able to spend time with these characters. We get to know a little about them, but, for the most part, it's just surface knowledge. I wanted more meat and wish I could have gotten it.
This being based on a true story - I don't know how much liberty was taken. Certainly, not as much as Braveheart but one has to wonder just how much embellishment was given. All in all, I don't think they pushed things too far and the film had a nice credits resolution to what happened after the events.
The film presents the dramatic rescue in the best possible light. It's worth watching, even if the impact could have been greater.
