A daring rescue at sea will put the life on the line of a coastal guard whose mission will be “The Finest Hours”. Based on the book by Casey Sherman, the film is set in February of 1952, with one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast striking New England, while projecting record winds and rain to the coastal areas. At the heart of it all is Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), a quiet but honorable Coast Guard who lives his life and career by the book. He meets Miriam (Holliday Granger) and instantly falls head over heels for her. During the storm, a team just off the coast of Cape Cod aboard an oil tanker led by Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) encounters treacherous conditions damaging the body of their ship, while literally ripping it in half. On a small lifeboat faced with frigid temperatures and 70-foot high waves, four members of the Coast Guard (Led by Bernie) set out to rescue the more than 30 stranded sailors trapped aboard the rapidly-sinking vessel. Bernie finds himself on a death-defying mission to save the crew, as well as getting back to the loving arms of Miriam. The film is directed by Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm) and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences.

“The Finest Hours” is the latest in shipwrecked films that have overcrowded the box office over the last three years. With films like “Unbroken” and “In the Heart of the Sea”, the plot is starting to wear itself thin, and that is no more evident than in this film. To say this is a bad movie would be wrong. Instead, Gillespie’s latest film showcases in screenplays what has been the one constant problem with all of his films; a terrible pacing for entertainment value. For a story this legendary, the movie moves through 110 minutes at a slugs pace, often calming down the action for quiet monologue exposition. There’s simply too much here to show-off in addition to the main premise why were all here in the first place. The worst part of all is the film’s script offers very little in the way of surprises or intriguing edge-of-your-seat moments. A lot of the problem comes with Disney’s format to always kind of take liberties with real life stories so that the audience leaves the theater feeling good. Everything in the movie was predictable, including the ending which is as far fetched as you can conjure up. The film had a chance to create some real drama in the third act, but it chose instead to take a ridiculous route which from afar almost comes off as laughable when the solution hits us.

What raises the score at least a little bit for me came in the props and effects department, as well as a presentational feel that reminds us of the kind of big budgets that Disney is known for. Even when you sit through a stinker, Disney more times than not presents a beautiful image for the big screen, and “The Finest Hours” showcased a faithful telling of 50’s culture and values. From the long and faded color dresses for the ladies, to the slicked back hairstyles for the gentlemen who always look like they’ve come fresh from a sock hop, the movie hits its nostalgic meter pretty easily and does it without feeling too cliche. As for the sets, the movie offers some really solid action sequences. The crumbling of this oil tanker is impressive because we don’t often see boats bend and break like that in movies, but it comes across soundly in just how dangerous this water is that surrounds our cast. There is also a truly marvelous musical score by Carter Burwell. The infused offerings of horns and orchestral tones alike kept me awake through much of a second act that dragged on, and really made the most for what little scenes of tension the movie gave me. Burwell has succeeded in musical scores for “Fargo”, “True Grit” and my favorite film from 2016 so far “Anomalisa”. His work in this film only adds to his calling card, as I feel it truly is the one memorable stamp from this movie.

I want to talk about the performances for a minute. The actors aren’t terrible by any means, but I questioned a lot of the portrayal motivations coming from a top notch acting class. Chris Pine plays Bernie to a quiet nervousness. Often coming off as a man with a damaged past or even mental problems. I’m not sure if Disney was going for that with their characters, but it sometimes casts our main protagonist in the most unusual of lights considering he represents the bravery of the film. I understand the intentional possibility with the underdog saving the day, but it’s different with Bernie’s character because there isn’t much intriguing about his traits, so often we are left looking for guidance in another. It’s not offered well by his female co-star, as Holliday Granger offers a monotonous performance that just doesn’t give her enough shine time. For a majority of the film, we are expecting this woman to break down in tears or yell at Bernie’s commanding officer (Played by Eric Bana) for sending him out in such harsh conditions. But no range of emotion ever shows itself, and we are left with two protagonists who couldn’t be any more void of substance than a blank piece of computer paper. The accents in this movie are just ridiculous. There is no accent in film more butchered than that of a Boston one, and this movie beats it into the ground viciously. With the exception of Casey Affleck (An actual Boston native), this is a torture of laughable accents. Bana in particular is reminiscent of a Southern born accent multiplied with current Boston living to make something that almost sounds British at times. Very strange.

Overall, “The Finest Hours” is anything but the finest that I have seen this year. I guess the title “Two hours of Monotonous snails pace” was just too long and didn’t roll off the tongue as well. If you are going to see this movie, check it out on DVD. There really is nothing worthy of the $10 cinema price you will shell out to see this movie. It’s enough to offer the viewers a warm-hearted story, but it misses its mark dramatically for the element of surprise that it leaves on the cutting room floor.

5/10