Sunday, September 18, 2016

Sully (2016)

Film about Captain Chelsey "Sully" Sullenberger and the 2009 "Miracle on the Hudson" passenger jet water landing from which all 155 people on board survived. In a compact 1 hour 36 minute running time 86 year old director Clint Eastwood manages to convey everything you need to know about this story in a more then satisfying manner. The film starts with a nice misdirect and then holds back some, gradually giving you the downing of US Airways Flight 1549, not all at once, but letting it build. However as well rendered as the "crash" is, that was not the most interesting part of the movie, rather the lesser known controversy about how "Sully" and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles handled the situation after both engines became disabled following a collision with a flock of birds, well that is worth the price of admission and not to be spoiled. Tom Hanks plays "Sully" as a straight forward stand up guy, he does that well as you'd expect him to, and as a friend of mine pointed out Hanks probably more or less directs himself at this point. Aaron Eckhart does a good job as co-pilot Skiles, as does Laura Linney as "Sully's" wife  Lorraine, though to be honest none of the supporting parts are all the demanding. "Sully" is that rare inspirational movie that is well written, directed, and acted and doesn't talk down to you, and is thusly kind of a gem.****

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