"Tom Hanks plus Zero Dark Thirty equals Oscar," I imagine a studio executive saying right before asking if there was a part for Amanda Seyfried. Yet, for a film that seems engineered to win Academy Awards, it's surprisingly interesting. Whatever cynical calculations were made in the early stages of its production, Captain Phillips is a solid film and an epic look at the high seas (c. 2009). Rather than taking the Zero Dark Thirty route of following one character's obsessive efforts with their duty, the filmmakers focus the story around the fascinating dynamic between Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) and Muse (Barkhad Abdi). The two men are competent captains and products of their circumstances. We empathize with both captains as they carry out their jobs, Phillips by protecting his ship with every available tactic and Muse by trying to hold his fracturing crew together. Director Paul Greengrass and screenwriter Billy Ray show us Phillips's and Muse's common humanity as well as the differences in their leadership techniques. Neither is loved by their crew, but Phillips commands respect through his knowledge, discipline, and sacrifice, while Muse rules through force. While incurring their crew's wrath, they care for them the best they can (read: trying to keep them alive). The dual focus also manages to make Phillips and Muse pawns in a larger struggle rather than reducing the story to a tale of heroes and villains.