The Force must have been with United States Coast Guardsman Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), the hero in Disney’s The Finest Hours. Although the actor is better known as Captain Kirk in the revitalized Star Trek, this character’s good fortune and instinct to navigate the rough seas is central to this film’s plot.
He’s ordered into a Kobayashi Maru style scenario where rescue seems impossible. When the SS Pendleton, a World War II-era oil tanker, is one of two boats that got ripped apart in the middle of an Atlantic winter storm near Cape Cod, not even Santa Claus can bring hope.
Technically, the events occurred in February — well past the holidays but close to Valentine’s (Feb 18th, 1952), perhaps explaining the subplot of Bernie’s romance with Miriam Pentinen (Holliday Grainger). Though their marriage plans were in the works and the date marked a highlight to make this movie a type to bring a date with, to which it is not.
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