Sully turns the real life events of the miracle on the Hudson into a gripping film that follows the water landing (not crash) and subsequent inquest of Captain “Sully” Sullenberger. In the media everyone is heralding him as a hero, but the investigation is out to pin the entire thing on him, stripping him of his wings making his 4 decades of flying for nothing as he won’t be eligible for a pension.
The film starts with Sully, played by a snowy haired Tom Hanks, being sat down in front of a board of people. The poor Captain is beset at all sides. Harassed by adoring media and fans wherever he goes. At night he’s worn down by vivid nightmares of not making it to the runway and slamming the plane into New Yorks packed streets.
Clint Eastwood plays up Sully as a tragic harassed figure and you really feel for the poor guy. Only bureaucracy and red tape could make surviving a plane accident any more stressful.
The film has great pacing, and for a movie that is ostensibly about a pilot getting dragged over the coals it stays fresh and exciting. Every moment of the landing and subsequent rescue by New Yorks finest is reveled in. Eastwood does a fantastic job of making you feel like you’re there with the crew, passengers and rescue workers.
The movie occasionally dips into Sully’s past. A less controlled version of this film would have done this willy nilly to flesh the movie out, but Clint Eastwood isn’t interested in telling an unnecessarily long biopic. This film gets you involved in what you’re really interested in, and doesn’t muck around.
Sully is an exciting film and follows on from a row of films that have celebrated modern day heroes and remarkable people such as American Sniper Chris Kyle and Captain Philips. If either of those films flicked your switch at all then you should definitely see Sully.
Sully releases in Cinemas September 9th.