Movie Title: The Finest Hours
Grade: B
Rating: PG-13, 1 hour 57 minutes
In a Nutshell:
This movie honors the heroes who participated in the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history.
Based on the book by the same name, the film seems almost old-fashioned, as if it were made in 1952 when the rescue took place.
This movie honors the heroes who participated in the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history.
Based on the book by the same name, the film seems almost old-fashioned, as if it were made in 1952 when the rescue took place.
Uplifting theme:
- When life gets hard, we have to have hope and take action. Casey Affleck’s character, Ray Sybert, says at one point, “I’m scared too. I got a life just as you. I just don’t see any point standing around talking about it.”
- Chris Pine’s character, Bernie Webber, states “We all live. We all die.” True. We’re all in this thing we call life together, so we might as well help each other.
- The unwavering courage demonstrated in this true story is extremely inspiring. All of the characters were afraid. I love the quote attributed to Ambrose Redmoon, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather, the judgement that something is more important than fear.”
Things I liked:
- Ahhh, Chris Pine. He gives a solid performance and nails the New England accent. Thankfully, his baby blues were sephia-toned down a bit in this film so that I wouldn’t be so distracted by gawking at them the entire time.
- It’s fun to love a bad-boy who kicks butt in an action film, but it’s so refreshing to have a protagonist in a movie who is kind, obedient, and respectful. Bernie Webber was an incredible man.
- I love it when a movie includes photographs of the real people in history at the end of the film. I love it even more when the actors actually look like the people they are portraying, which is the case in this film.
- The sound effects were chilling.
- The special effects are effective and believable.
- Can you imagine how unpleasant the filming conditions must have been for the actors and crew?
- Actress Holliday Grainger was perfectly cast. She looked like she really stepped out of the 1950’s.
Things I didn’t like:
- You might get a little bit sea sick. I had to close my eyes a few times so I wouldn’t feel nauseated.
- Sometimes it’s hard to hear what everyone is saying with all of the waves and other things crashing around in the background.
- Bring a jacket to the theater. Seeing all that snow and icy water might make you cold.
- Although I didn’t know the details of the rescue before I watched the movie, everything was pretty predictable and straight-forward. There were no surprises.
- It could have used a little bit more of humor.
- The land scenes are a bit dull, but the ocean scenes are extremely engaging.
Interesting lines:
- “In the Coast Guard they say you go out. They don’t say you gotta come back.” – Bernie Webber
- “Just relax and be patient.” – Bernie, teaching Miriam how to dance. That was kind of his philosophy throughout the entire ordeal.
Tips for parents:
- This is a serious film. Although it’s a Disney movie, it definitely does not have a light-hearted “happily-ever-after” tone to it.
- There are some deaths and tense moments that might frighten very young children.
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