Review: ‘The Finest Hours’ Stars Chris Pine, Leading a Mission Against All Odds

I watched last night, and my biggest complaint -- other than very slow pacing in the opening third of the film -- was the complete lack of back story for Miriam. Her character was full of chutzpah, but we had no sense of why, where it came from or how it had been expressed in her life up to that point. This could have been provided through dialogue alone without extending the running time.

As a reporter for a local paper, I was honored and privileged to meet and interview Bernie Webber for a story back in 1997-98. The story was not about the Pendleton. Bernie called the paper because he wanted to tell the story of another Guardsman, Daniel Davidson, who Bernie felt had lost out on a medal from another rescue on the Cape, later on in the 60's, partly due to his, Bernie's, own notoriety. He asked that the Pendleton never be mentioned in the article. "This isn't a Bernie Webber story," he said.

This is the kind of person Bernie was. No matter how clunky the film may be, I hope that moviegoers get it that most of these guys are way up there when it comes to integrity and heroics and selflessness.

Just saw the movie for the second time- this time not in 3d. It was just as gripping the second time around- My family had been waiting for this movie to come out for a long time as my Uncle Andy was one of the rescuers- Admittedly,we were a little nervous- Would it be what we hoped it would be? None of us were disappointed. It is a great movie. This time I took my 10 year old. He watched intently for two hours. I asked him the next day how he liked it and he said " it was great" " I didn't even mind when Bernie kissed the girl because the rest of it was so exciting."- Disney got it right

Readers have to distinguish between the real events and the movie. The movie is not great. That does not take away from the real events or heroism of the coast guard during the true rescue. This film is not particularly gripping and seems to parody wartime classics. I love the idea of the film but it does not deliver.

Film reviewer Stephen Holden does his readers a disservice when he questions the believability of the film's depiction of Webber's lifeboat /"climbing one wall of water after another at a nearly 90-degree angle"/

A brief google image search would have been all it would have taken for Holden to see for himself that the brave sailors who man the Coast Guard's rescue lifeboats do find themselves called upon to cross the sandbars outside harbors at nearly 90-degree angles, during bad weather. The Coast Guard's image archives contain many shots of today's rescue lifeboats doing so.

Anyone who doesn't like this movie simply cannot appreciate a heroic true story of an against all odds survival of really good men who knew their lives were at stake. After watching this movie, I have an even better appreciation of the Coast Guard and all the men in service who are there to protect us. The acting was great and the ocean scenes were astounding. The movie is more than entertainment on a Saturday night; it's a revelation of humanity and the forces against humanity in a struggle to survive.

I just saw the movie. My father was a Navy man in ww2 and yes he was the same as Chris Pine portrayed. A very humble and courageous man in the face of great adversity. So before you criticize the way these men were portrayed in the film you should have researched how real men acted in that time period. Also the credits showing photos of the actual
men, boats and area were very inspiring.

Is it just me or does every new movie feature either Chris Pine or one of the Hemsworth brothers? Have they been cloned?

La-de-da Mr. Holden! Too bad they did not make this movie a little more interesting for cynics like you. Maybe an aircraft carrier starts to sink and over the horizon comes 3 or 4 Oscars winners rowing a rubber boat to board the boat, climb up on the side of the boat with screwdrivers between their teeth and run to the captain's side, relieve him and put on the brakes of the ship. The captain kneels down to kiss their blue jeans and they all return to wherever they came from, met by the entire population of the town. All of the boat people are handsome. Perhaps this is dull by your lights but I'd like to see the genuine reenactment of a real heroic event. Living in N Y makes an ordinary person into a snob.

An inspiring film! Some have been calling it old fashioned, but it's not too often one can see a movie these days where ordinary people are at their very best when things are at their very worst.

The rescue boat was restored by volunteers in Chatham. I saw her at the WoodenBoat show in Music a few years ago. Seeing her in person makes the rescue even more amazing. Read the book seeing the movie tonight with a Coastie friend.

Danm the reviews, full speed ahead!

While I was watching this movie, I actually thought "how would some "sophisticated" NY times-type reviewer even be able to review this"? And here's the answer.

I have read "The Finest Hours." This movie took liberties with the romantic relationship between Bernie Weber and his girlfriend (they were already married and she spent the entire time of the rescue in bed sick) but was very true to the actual rescue events which were not overdramatized in any way.

Yes, this actually was what "the greatest generation" was like -- a group of people this reviewer undoubtedly has little in common with. When one of the crew members of the Pendelton goes out on deck and discovers half the ship gone, he does not let loose a stream of F bombs but rather "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Yes -- people actually used to say that. I've heard it myself. And when the bow is lost with all hands, the men in the stern stand and pray. Yes, people used to do that. In one scene, a man can be seen seated in the background praying the rosary. I'm sure this reviewer did not even know what he was seeing.

The reviewer makes numerous mistakes showing that he indeed did not take in a lot of what was going on, including why the boat was run onto the shoal and the fact the weather does not "calm" after they go over the bar -- the waves get smoother because the water is deeper.

My son is in the Coast Guard. Their motto is "So Others May Live." Really corny. Nothing this reviewer would be interested in.

Sure it was sappy! It's Disney film, after all. But the technical aspects were quite good. I was a marine machinist in a shipyard in the 60s and worked on a few remaining T-2s as well as Liberty and Victory ships. They were not the best built but the U.S. had a war to win and those ships helped immeasurably I also served 2 years at sea of a 3-1/2 year duty. And I just like boats. The reviewer failed to give the Coasties their due. Depending on duty station acts of heroism can be commonplace. The rescue happened because as was made clear in the dialogue, "that's their job." Hollywood had to intercede else we would be
watching a documentary. As a marine surveyor I interviewed a Russian captain of a cargo vessel that had lost its rudder. Vessels don't lose their rudders on a mill pond. The Chief Engineer was lowered over the stern in a bosun's chair to view the damage, then fashioned a drogue (look it up) and with that and the bow thruster brought the vessel over a 5 day period into San Francisco Bay. Safely. The reviewer's failure to acknowledge - or even consider the perils of the sea - does a disservice to the USCG and the Merchant Marine, for that matter.

Way too much snark in the review. This event actually happened. 4 brave people risked their lives to rescue other people under horrid circumstances. It's not fictional bunk. If the reviewer ever laments about the "lack of community" in contemporary America, he or she can point to the snark in the review as a tiny contributor to that decline. As for the dialects in the film, I've lived in New England for 30 years and still have trouble understanding some of my regional neighbors; but if I ever scream for help, I hope there are still some of them around to understand my shout.

So. You dislike handsome men. In real life they're all inept and cowardly. And no one has ever or should ever cast a handsome man if the real-life character was not a gorgeous hunk.

And. An incident that really took place is unbelievable because it implies genuine heroism in the face of truly overwhelming odds. More acceptable alternatives are the grossly ugly aspects of real life or the purely imaginary adventures of a Star Wars sequel.

Thanks for the insights.

I saw it at a publicity preview, along with many Coast Guard members in uniform. For me, awareness of the true-story background ruled out lumping it together with so many garden-variety action films.
When a film is made for IMAX 3-D, it is unfair to review it if one does not see it in that format. As my publicity screening was in "Real 3-D," I went back and saw it a second time at the earliest regular showing in IMAX 3-D. Big difference!
I loved IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, and am saddened how little recognition it got. STAR WARS bumped it off all the IMAX screens after only a few days. This somewhat similar film comes just below that one, on the still rather short list of films making effective use of 3-D I have been compiling for over sixty years!
Miriam is the story's moral center, fighting like a tigress to prevent the ill advised mission from going ahead. Against all odds, the mission succeeds and the actual people did live happily ever after. Since those days, countless young Americans have been dispatched on other futile, ill advised missions, and have rarely beaten the odds. That subtext is what makes this film poignant now. Apparently the irony of Ms. Grainger playing a character who is insecure about her appearance is lost on nearly everyone. What a magisterial, understated performance! Although it was not in the film, I went away with the song, THREE FISHERS recurring to me.

This was a gripping movie. I was extremely moved as I watched, realizing how lucky Iam to have my Uncle Andy in my life as he never should have made it back. My uncle is a humble, gentle man who possesses a tremendous inner strength that clearly helped him on that night. Thanks to Disney for making an awesome movie-definately worth seeing- and to the actors who did a great job portraying these solid men.

This film is another example of white culture aggrandizement. I can't believe they make films like this anymore and expect a culturally diverse and vibrant audience to attend. The film critic, Mr. Holden, is completely justified in his unleashing of a hefty dose of snark in this review.

Having just seen this film, I was most impressed by the meticulous attention to period detail, gorgeous cinematography and technical authenticity. On top of that it's a great yarn with genuine human interest. If sophisticates find the story line trite-so be it. The scenes depicting the crew's harrowing crossing of the Chatham Bar in a nor'easter may seem exaggerated but consider that fact that current high tech boats used by the Coast Guard for that purpose initially failed sea trials because the waves smashed the windshields. I've also spent a great deal of time on Cape Cod and the accents in the film seemed, if anything, toned down.

I love that a commercial for Holland America Line preceded the trailer.

The TV commercials look terrible. Another Perfect Storm, but that was done years ago, And can we retire the tried "Not on my watch"? It's become joke. Too bad the filmmakers aren't in on that.

Good catch on those awful accents. Locals still call a shark a shock but probably the closest these actors ever got to Massachusetts was changing planes at Logan. How bout those Red Saxs!

Wonder if the characters have WWII nicknames, like "Brooklyn" (the one that always dies first) Hondo (the Captain) and "Lefty" (the lefty).

Predict great future for this film--- on TCM. Where it might wind up next week.

FYI, the 36 foot boat used in the actual rescue is lovingly preserved and can be seen at Rock Harbor in Orleans MA.

Have Stephen Holden or any of the artsy-tartsy clique of NYT reviewers any conception of what is like to serve with the Coast Guard on a Search and Rescue station or, for that matter, any part of the military forces? Probably not. Speaking as a Coast Guard veteran, I am pleased that Disney produced the film and look forward to seeing it. Having worked with the crews similar to the ones Webber lead, I can vouch for the intensity and single mindedness of these men. Calling this film a shameless recycle of virtue is an unwarranted snipe against a group of dedicated service men and servicewomen.

Too much sneering, Mr. Holden. Says more about you than the movie. Flawed heroes are always interesting, but there is such a thing as good and decent people. No need to ridicule them or their portrayal.

Disney's pandering to the audience fingerprints are all over this ridiculously predictable fluff. This should have been a "made for TV" movie. What a waste of 10 bucks.

What does it mean that "clean-cut manly virtue" is now used sneeringly? It's later than I thought.

I wondered when the expression "not on my watch…" would finally jump the shark. Finally happened on my watch. Hoping same soon for "jump the shark".