The Pirates of Somalia (2017)

Very well knit and exciting movie about Somalia, captures the culture and people very efficiently. Great lead character and support as well. Al Pacino's appearance was very adequate as well. The overall story telling style was very entertaining and felt fresh continuously.

Fmovies: I wish I could write a better review of The Pirates Of Somalia. That is certainly one troubled land for the past 30 or so years. When the action of this film takes place in 2008 it was hardly even a country, a geographical expression at best.

Years ago when Lebanon was in a similar state and to some extent still is I read that President Gemayel controlled maybe 10 blocks square around the presidential palace in Beirut. That about sums up the situation in Somalia with different warlords controlling a piece of turf over a country a lot bigger than Lebanon.

Doing a paper on Somalia at the University of Toronto, young Jay Bahadur played here by Evan Peters wants a journalistic career and seeks the advice of a legendary reporter. Playing said reporter Al Pacino basically says seek out a subject and write. Make sure it's something no one else has already covered to death.

Being a country with a nice long sea coast, any number of these Somalian warlords have gone into piracy for profit. At the same time that Bahadur was gathering material for his Somalia story, the world watched as some of these pirates took Captain Phillips hostage.

Sad to say that the nature of that story a spine tingling adventure sort of wrote itself for the screen with Tom Hanks giving an acclaimed performance. I wish that this one had been juiced up a bit or at least 20 to 30 minutes had been cut out. The pace of The Pirates Of Somalia is agonizingly slow at times.

Al Pacino really stands out. No doubt put it the film for a little box office juice, he also picks up the pace with a quirky performance. He's in at the beginning and toward the end. I wish we could have worked him in more.

The Pirates Of Somalia is a story that needed telling. But fortify yourself with a bit of caffeine before watching.

The title "The Pirates of Somalia" + 'too old for action' Pacino set up in my mind a film completely different from what transpired. And so did the 'tone' of the first 20 or 30 minutes. The unprepossessing lead actor and the 'near-goofy bro' tone almost had me leave early but, if you go in, have patience. This well made true life tale of an idealist who takes a way-over-his-head risky chance in the hope of establishing himself as a journalist keeps adding weight as goes. The director mixes in a little magical-realism while presenting background to the Somali situation that I had never heard or read of before. Plus, it happens to be funny quite often. Enough license taken to make it a tense grand adventure. Our favorite Somali actor, Barkhad Abdi, once again, does a great job.

The Pirates of Somalia fmovies. I loved this film, it is so refreshing to see actual Somalian people given the chance to tell their story. I thought the film was fantastic, the drama was peppered with humor which made it more real

All of the leads were fantastic Evan Peters and Barkhad Abdi were the stand outs. I really felt their friendship grow through the film and about 30 minutes in I forgot they were acting as the drama became more real. I loved the Director's use of animation throughout the film.

I recommend this film as it is about another point of view and it is linked to the movie Captain Philips.

This film explains about the Somalian Culture and the motives behind the Piracy. I learned so much more from this film than from the Tom Hanks vehicle.

If I was to sum up its a cracking story of courage, hope and the search for the truth.

Loved every minute of it

The movie dedicates from 3 - 5 minutes of dialogue to explain something of Somalia history, culture and situation. Throughout the rest of it, it tells the story of a prepotent journalist trying to make a career out of another country situation. The main character is just annoying and futile. Native actors made good performances. Important story told through a bad script.

I enjoyed Pirates of Somalia far more than I thought I would. Evan Peters is credible and very watchable. The supporting cast is strong enough to keep you interested in a well-told story. I wasn't as informed about the piracy situation in Somalia. I'd wager that bunches of Westerners aren't, either. However, this film does a great job of laying out the recent Somali history, while also telling a compelling "true" story. I'd recommended Pirates of Somalia, but only to someone who can handle a human drama with some political history, good characters, and touches of humor. This film is not for the blissfully uninformed. You'll learn something. And you'll like it, too.