The Finest Hours is not a great movie but perfectly adequate that tells a compelling story that is utterly amazing. The performances by Chris Pine and Casey Affleck aren’t anything awe-inspiring yet decent enough to carry their respective roles and storylines. While it could’ve been better, this is a movie at least worth a rental.
The Finest Hours
(2016)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama, Adventure
Disney | PG13 – 117 min. – $39.99 | May 24, 2016
Date Published: 05/23/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 3.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Based on the extraordinary true story of the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history, The Finest Hours is a tale of courage, faith and honor in the face of overwhelming odds. When a massive storm strikes off the coast of Cape Cod, it rips a T-2 oil tanker in half, trapping more than 30 sailors on its rapidly sinking stern. As Captain Bernie Webber (CHRIS PINE) and his crew (BEN FOSTER, KYLE GALLNER, JOHN MAGARO) set out in a 12-seat rescue boat to save them, Chief Engineer Ray Sybert (CASEY AFFLECK) struggles to buy his crew more time.
The Finest Hours isn’t a great film though the story it is based upon is truly inspiring. Yet, Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm, another feel-good Disney flick) does showcase the heroic actions of both Webber and Sybert, as portrayed by Pine and Affleck respectively, quite well and we get a very nice Disney adventure flick but by the same token, it fails to have that epic feel I had hoped for, though being a January release didn’t help matters. Based on my research, following my viewing, outside of the romantic side story, where Bernie and Miriam (played by HOLLIDAY GRAINGER) were already married when he and his crew made the treacherous rescue mission and she was home ill with the flu (instead of waiting by the harbor), however the mission itself was accurately portrayed down to the replica boat used which makes their actions even more impressive just finding the ship, without a compass, and then getting the 30+ person crew on board a boat made for only 12.
Beyond the real life aspects, the performances were mostly decent. Chris Pine seems like an actor made to portray a character from the early/mid 20th century – seem him next in 1920s era Wonder Woman – while Casey Affleck is serviceable as a reluctant leader of a crew now entirely respectful of him, though his character’s actions did manage to save them. Eric Bana is OK as Webber’s CO who’s command is pretty much constantly questioned including by Miriam as she demands for him to call her fiancé back for what was though certain death. The movie was based upon the book, of the same name, written by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias, and adapted by the trio of Scott Silver (The Mod Squad, The Fighter), Paul Tamasy (two of the first Air Bud flicks and the upcoming Patriots’ Day) and Eric Johnson (The Fighter), and although the screenplay could’ve been sharper and Gillespie could’ve made a tighter film, The Finest Hours is a perfectly decent film with some notable visual effects and an interesting enough story to keep one’s attention for the two hour duration. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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This release comes with a gloss, title-embossed, slip cover. Inside is a code for the Digital HD copy. Against All Odds: The Bernie Webber Story (14:10; HD) is an interesting story behind the real events with interviews by the filmmakers, as well as Webber’s daughter, and their attempts to bring it to the big screen. This featurette was filmed in the quant town of Chatham. Deleted Scenes (4:28; HD) – There are only two scenes included, neither of which are particularly noteworthy. Brotherhood (1:49) finds the cast as they reflect on the bonds they formed during the shoot. Two Crews (2:02; HD) – Chris Pine and Casey Affleck share insights into the men who led their respective crews against the odds. What is Your Finest Hour? (1:02; HD) – A Coast Guard member recounts an incredible rescue. The Finest Recognition: The U.S. Coast Guard (1:42; HD) is an advert for the CG. |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| The Finest Hours docks onto Blu-ray presented in its original 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture isn’t anything I’d call beautiful to look at as it’s a dark looking film where daytime shots have a golden-like hue while night shots lack any color whatsoever. That said, detail looks sharp and although blacks aren’t exactly stark, it’s still decent enough and rhere were no obvious signs of artifacts or aliasing. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| The disc comes with a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which provides for crisp and clear dialogue levels while the bulk of this lossless track comes to life during the open sea shots when Webber’s boat attempts to overcome the waves as well as the scenes in the oil tanker. It’s nothing that blew my socks off and could’ve had a bit more depth, but the LFE channel does at least kick in making it a solid enough home theater experience. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
| Overall, The Finest Hours is not a great movie but perfectly adequate that tells a compelling story that is utterly amazing. The performances by Chris Pine and Casey Affleck aren’t anything awe-inspiring yet decent enough to carry their respective roles and storylines. While it could’ve been better, this is a movie at least worth a rental. The Blu-ray released by Disney offers good video and audio but the features are a bit lacking. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.