Movies Like Captain Phillips (2013)

Captain Phillips is a 2013 action, drama, thriller film from Paul Greengrass with a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with A Hijacking and Blood Diamond.

Action Drama Thriller

A Hijacking

2012

Tensions are high after a Danish freighter is captured and held for ransom by Somali pirates, leading to weeks of high-stakes negotiations – and an escalating potential for explosive violence.

6.8

MagicScore

Blood Diamond

2006

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed countrywide.

7.6

MagicScore

Submergence

2017

While James More is held captive by terrorists in Somalia, thousands of miles away on the Greenland Sea, his lover Danny Flinders prepares to dive herself in a submersible into the deep bottom of the ocean, tormented by the memories of their brief encounter in France and her inability to know his whereabouts.

5.5

MagicScore

Skyjacked

1972

A crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 and demands to be taken to Russia.

6.2

MagicScore

The Pirates of Somalia

2017

After an inspiring chance encounter with his idol, rookie journalist Jay Bahadur uproots his life and moves to Somalia looking for the story of a lifetime. Hooking up with a local fixer, he attempts to get embedded with the local Somali pirates, only to quickly find himself in over his head.

6.9

MagicScore

Desert Flower

2009

The autobiography of a Somalian nomad who was sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is now at the age of 38, the UN spokeswoman against female genital mutilation.

7.5

MagicScore

Emergency Declaration

2022

While investigating a terroristic threat that goes viral online, Korean authorities discover that a suspect has recently boarded an international flight bound for the United States. When a healthy passenger on the same flight suddenly dies a gruesome death of unknown cause, panic erupts both in-flight and on the ground. With steadily decreasing fuel and international refusals to offer aid, the captain and crew will be forced to take unprecedented emergency measures in an attempt to save the lives of their passengers.

7.5

MagicScore

The Journey Is the Destination

2016

The inspiring life story of the late photojournalist, artist and activist Dan Eldon, who abandoned a comfortable life in London to document the struggle, heartbreak and hope of a war-torn and famine-ridden region of Africa.

6.4

MagicScore

United 93

2006

A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

Executive Decision

1996

Terrorists hijack a 747 inbound to Washington D.C., demanding the release of their imprisoned leader. Intelligence expert David Grant (Kurt Russell) suspects another reason and he is soon the reluctant member of a special assault team that is assigned to intercept the plane and hijackers.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

Ransom

1974

Following a series of bomb attacks in London, a group of terrorists seize Britain's ambassador to Scandinavia. With the ambassador now a hostage in his residence, another group hijacks an airliner at the capital's airport, announcing that the passengers will not be freed until their demands are met. Colonel Nils Tahlvik, Scandinavia's resourceful and ruthless head of security, seeks to take an uncompromising stance against the terrorists yet his attempts meet resistance from unknown forces at every turn...

5.5

MagicScore

#12

Non-Stop

2014

Bill Marks is a Federal Air Marshall for whom every day is the same until this one. On this plane ride, he starts receiving text messages from someone claiming to be on the flight and threatening to kill passengers. In a race against the clock, he must identify and stop the killer to save everyone on board.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

The Delta Force

1986

A 707 aircraft jetliner, en route from Athens to Rome and then to New York City, is hijacked by Lebanese terrorists, who demand that the pilot take them to Beirut. What the terrorists don't realize is that an elite team of commandos have been called in to eliminate all terrorists on the jetliner.

6.0

MagicScore

#14

Who Am I?

1998

A group of covert CIA operatives trailing a potential new energy source are double-crossed by corrupt agent Morgan, who causes a helicopter crash in remote South Africa. The sole survivor, suffering severe amnesia, is nursed to recovery by a kindly native tribe who call him "Whoami" after the question he keeps asking. With the help of a mysterious reporter Christine, Whoami pieces together his past and tracks the turncoat agent and his criminal cohorts.

7.1

MagicScore

#15

Neerja

2016

Neerja is a portrayal on the life of the courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on the Pan Am flight 73 in 1986. The flight was hijacked by a terrorist organization.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Rendition

2007

When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, his American wife and a CIA analyst find themselves caught up in a struggle to secure his release from a secret detention facility somewhere outside the US.

6.4

MagicScore

#17

Passenger 57

1992

Airline security specialist John Cutter, finally returning to the job after his wife's death, finds himself stuck on a flight being hijacked by notorious terrorist Charles Rane. Unfortunately for the terrorists, they're also stuck with him.

6.0

MagicScore

#18

Crash Landing

2006

When a hostage situation arises on-board a private plane with the daughter of a billionaire on-board. Major John Masters (Sabato Jr.) teams up with Captain Williams (Michael Paré) to stop the terrorist and land the plane.

4.7

MagicScore

#19

Curious George

2006

When The Man in the Yellow Hat befriends Curious George in the jungle, they set off on a non-stop, fun-filled journey through the wonders of the big city toward the warmth of true friendship.

6.5

MagicScore

#20

The Rock

1996

When vengeful General Francis X. Hummel seizes control of Alcatraz Island and threatens to launch missiles loaded with deadly chemical weapons into San Francisco, only a young FBI chemical weapons expert and notorious Federal prisoner have the skills to penetrate the impregnable island fortress and take him down.

7.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Captain Phillips?

The top films similar to Captain Phillips by MovieMagicScore are A Hijacking (6.8), Blood Diamond (7.6), Submergence (5.5). Each shares action/drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Captain Phillips worth watching?

Captain Phillips holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10 from 7,224 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Captain Phillips?

Captain Phillips (2013) is a action, drama, thriller film directed by Paul Greengrass, starring Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman.

Where can I find more recommendations like Captain Phillips?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more action recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like A Hijacking Movies like Blood Diamond Movies like Submergence Movies like Skyjacked Movies like The Pirates of Somalia Movies like Desert Flower

About movies like Captain Phillips

This ranked list pairs Captain Phillips (2013), a action and drama and thriller film from Paul Greengrass, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tom Hanks take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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