When it comes to real stories or adventure based films, you automatically expect an adrenaline rush. I watched The Finest Hours with the same set of expectations. However, nothing met the level . I overlooked all points and doubts since the movie is based on real incident from 1950’s.
So the protagonist Bernie Webbe is a coast guard soon to be married. Miles away, a ferocious storm wrecks a ship with oil tanker into two halves, trapping 30 plus crew members. As the news of the disaster reaches coast guard, the officer in charge orders a rescue mission, with nobody willing to take the risk. Bernie stands up against the odds and volunteers to attempt the mission, taking three more men on a lifeboat to save the trapped crew. Fighting the big lashing waves and freezing temperature, the boat loses its compass and the boatmen lose their hope. Bernie encourages them to keep moving for the sake of humanity and pursues further.
The movie gets an emotional and happy climax. Disney does a great job in creating visual effects. However the story is not much intriguing. Though based on real facts, it gets a little weird when the family members/friends of the rescued men turn their car headlights on, making a signal for the lost boat. But thats a movie, not a documentary. Few effects were good, rest the movie was average.