Sully

By: John Delia

There have been several real life events that Hollywood has brought to the screen and the movie Sully happens to be one of them. Seven years ago, US Airways flight 1579 had to ditch in the Hudson River and TV had a heyday with the crash and rescue of all 155 passengers on board. Even more recent was the replay of the documentary Hudson Plane Crash: What Really Happened on American Heroes Channel cable TV that was very poignant with actual passengers and crew members giving interviews.  Heroism personified.

I’m actually amazed that Clint Eastwood made the film Sully since so much of the drama of the accident having been played out in the media and movies before that actually waters down his presentation. Holding nothing back; however, his movie recounts the events from his view of that auspicious day that Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger became a real life hero. Plus Eastwood’s biography/drama adds more to the story that the media was not aware of at the time. But is it really enough to make the film any more thrilling a heroic deed as previously reported in 2009 on nearly every TV station in the world? We’ll see what the box office has to say about it.

The movie follows Sully Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) as he recounts what happened when the passenger plane he was piloting lost both engines after being hit by a flock of birds. With just seconds to decide on how he would bring down the aircraft, Sullenberger tells us what he went through and why certain decisions were made with his co-pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart). The twist with Eastwood’s film is that Sullenberger was later accused of making a poor decision and how the National Transportation Safety Board questioned his handling of the event.

The upside to this retelling of the incident is the acting by Tom Hanks who does an excellent job of depicting the man who saved 155 people that could have perished from the awful accident. Looking like the actual Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, Hanks plays out the calm and cool pilot with aplomb. Totally convincing and gripping, his Sullenberger shows how daring the thirty year experienced pilot acted when he decided to drop the airplane in the Hudson River. It was a smart move with the only option being a possible crash landing in New York City.

Sully has been rated PG-13 for some peril and brief strong language.

FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good production of a heroic event. (C+)