BeautifulBallad Reviews The Finest Hours
Based on the 2009 book by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias and the real life events that took place in 1952,The Finest Hours tells the story of Boatswains Mate First Class Bernard “Bernie” Webber and his Coast Guard team, who have been tasked with rescuing the men stranded on the SS Pendleton tanker off the coast of Chatham, MA. The tanker split in two during a severe “nor’easter” affecting the Northeast. With only hours left before the tanker goes under it is up to Bernie and his team to brave the “nor’easter” and the treacherous Chatham bar in order to save these men.
Chris Pine plays Bernie, the leader of the four man Coast Guard team. Pine does a nice job showing off Bernie’s insecurities and reluctance to go against regulations to save the men. The character is a little stale and at some points boring. At no point are you ever rooting for the character and with a movie like this you should have been. Casey Affleck was the other leading man in the movie. He played Ray Sybert the SS Pendelton’s engineer and it is his quick thinking that ultimately keeps the Pendleton crew alive long enough for the Coast Guard to arrive. Casey does a wonderful job as Ray. His performance allows the audience to see how timid Ray is to command a tankard, but also show how strong he is as a captain and leader.
The Finest Hours has all the elements of being a really good movie, but they all come up short. The dialogue is stale and the characters lack development. The romance in the movie is unnecessary, but without it there would have been no real female character in the film. The shifting between the tankard scenes and the Coast Guard team’s scenes are done well, but the scenes don’t contain enough meat to keep the audience entertained. If it weren’t for the actions scenes, the movie would have sunk into the ocean, much like the Pendleton.
For all those looking for a movie to see this weekend, hold off on seeing this one in theaters unless it’s for a matinee. I would suggest though waiting until this movie comes out on DVD. It is a great movie to sit at home and watch, not sit in a theater and watch. However, if you do plan on seeing the movie, do not pay the extra charge for 3D, it is not worth it!
Grade: C+