Sully

A very low-key and introverted film. The structure of the film is very clever, the most moving flight process is scattered in the middle of the film, constantly re-enacted fragments to enhance the heat. But from another point of view, the story of the film is very simple, it can be said that the plot has no depth, especially reflected in the final hearing, a sentence to achieve a big turnaround. After watching it, there was even a feeling that it was a documentary rather than a commercial movie.

The movie is enjoyable to watch and gives a good impression of what must go on inside the mind of a pilot after such a spectacular accident. The depiction of the actual ditching (landing in the water) and the conversation between the pilots and controllers is quite accurate, and with CGI, quite believable.

However, the depiction of the investigative process, including the behavior of the investigators, is not realistic at all. I have worked as a professional pilot and air accident investigator for most of my life, and the investigation as depicted in this film is pure fiction.

In several interviews with the director, Clint Eastwood, he admitted that the movie needed a villain or antagonist, so he chose to depict the investigators and the investigative process as much more hostile than it really is.

One of the most remarkable incidents of the 2000s was when U.S. Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. All of the 155 passengers on the plane survived. This dramatization of the incident, starring Tom Hanks, tells the story of Captain Chesley Sullenberger, who pulled off the Miracle on the Hudson, as it's called. Hanks gives a solid performance as Sully, who is conflicted as to whether or not he endangered the lives of all of the people on board. Aside from the incident itself, most of the movie is dedicated to the debate over whether or not the plane could potentially have returned to LaGuardia. The FAA is made out to be a villain of sorts. Some may argue that this is not as interesting as the incident itself, or that it isn't good movie material. It still works as a film, as it is more about Sully himself than anything else. Director Clint Eastwood does a great job at telling the story, by cutting the incident into several scenes and having the rest be about how it affected Sully's life, and that of his family. After the incident, Sully himself had to deal with PTSD, as well as the stress of instantly becoming a celebrity. His wife and daughters also had to deal with a constant bombardment of attention from the press. This is the focal point of the movie. It's about the people, not the incident. In that regard, it is a very good movie, but if you're expecting it to be about the incident itself, go watch any of the documentaries made about it.

If there's one thing you can count on Clint Eastwood doing well, it's directing an emotionally heartfelt story. Sully continues Eastwood's success by giving us probably the most human drama of 2016.

"The miracle on the Hudson" is the subject of this Eastwood drama, starring Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, and Laura Linney. There will be plenty of obstacles with any film based on a true story, but with a film based on an event that lasted a mere 208 seconds, it's extra difficult. But Eastwood manages to pull a great story out of these unbelievable events that comes in just under 2 hours. Of course, the flight itself isn't the only hurdle that captain Sully went through, as he dealt with reporters, investigators, and the National Transportation Safety Board determined to diminish his heroic efforts.

Who could possibly be better to play Captain Sully than the great Tom Hanks. Having wonderfully played another "controversial" captain back in 2013 as Captain Phillips, there was no doubt he could pull off a somewhat similar role. Boy does Hanks deliver. He always effortlessly pulls out the big speeches and powerful dialogue well, but I often find his more subtle acting to be more impressive. It's the moments when Sully is reacting to the big moments with only his facial expressions and body languages that give me goosebumps. Not many actors are able to bring me to the verge of tears just by a facial expression, but Hanks is one of them.

Eastwood and his editors also deserve tons of credit for their work here. Much like Hanks' subtle acting, I love when Eastwood holds back the bombastic music (that can sometimes take you out of a story like this) and lets the audience choose how to feel by watching gorgeous cinematography and poignant acting and directing. This may be Eastwood's best directorial work since Million Dollar Baby. He understood exactly the moments to use and not music in order to pull the emotion out of his audience.

Most of all, this film is a great display of the power of the human spirit. Everything about this film is grounded with humanity. No one seems fake. So often Hollywood is flooded with over-the-top filmmaking that can easily dilute the power of the film's message. Sully knows exactly what it's going for, and it does it to near perfection.

+Eastwood back at the top

+Hanks subtle acting

+Power of human spirit

91/100

"Everything is unprecedented until it happens for the first time." Sully (Tom Hanks)

On January 15, 2009, a decidedly un-cinematic hero, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger of US Airways, landed 155 souls into the Hudson River, safely, as he struggled with a plane crippled by birds in both engines. As we all know, the passengers and crew survived, so what does director Clint Eastwood bring to the big screen that could engage an audience knowing the blessed outcome?

First, he brings Tom Hanks, not unknown to portray low-key heroes (see Bridge of Spies and Captain Phillips most recently), whose understated courage seems accurately to reflect the Sully we have come to know and see displayed with the credits. Second, Eastwood crafts one of the most believable crash and rescue scenes I have ever encountered.

As in the authentic Hanks interpretation of the quiet Sully, the disaster is compelling and understated. No swelling or morbid music takes away from the terror. Because the simulations at the National Transportation Safety Board hearings were necessary to prove fault, the contrast between the NTSB creations and Eastwood's rendition of the real incident is starkly evocative of the film's attempt to get it all right.

Even the NTSB's grilling Sully at the hearings, while it unsettlingly tracks his alleged errors in the "Miracle on the Hudson," has a low-profile approach. It confirms Eastwood's and writer Todd Komarnicki's affirmation that everyone in the film is doing his and her job, from pilots, investigators, and rescuers to director and writer.

Even Sully's wife, Lorraine (Laura Linney), in the ever-annoying wife-in-waiting-role, is stronger and more balanced than the stock character. Although the passengers are not always first-rate actors, they do seem sincere. However, it is Hanks's film with his stolid, no frills acting, followed by a supportive Aaron Eckhart as his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles.

But then, that powerful under-acting is emblematic of the director himself, a lean craftsman who wastes no time in production and has no time for puffery. Although not Unforgiven, Sully is one of Eastwood's best and one of the best films of the year.

After seeing this film, you may have a heightened respect even for flight attendants, who evidence a more sincere bravery than summer blockbuster heroes could ever do as that crew directs the passengers: "Brace. Brace. Brace. Head down, stay down!" If you see Sully in IMAX, your head will be up in the clouds and your heart too.