MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Biographical Drama/Stars: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Mike O’Malley, Anna Gunn, Jamey Sheridan, Ann Cusack, Autumn Reeser, Molly Hagan, Jane Gabbert, Holt McCallany, Chris Bauer, Patch Darragh, Jerry Ferrara, Max Adler, Sam Huntington, Michael Rapaport, Wayne Bastrup, Valerie Mahaffey, Jeff Kober, Molly Bernard, Vince Lombardi, Katie Couric, David Letterman, Blake Jones/Runtime: 96 minutes
I think it’s safe to start this review off by saying that, with no less a distance of a solid 14 years having come and gone, it might be a bit absurd for anyone in their right frame of mind to say at this point in time that Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger does not qualify as a modern-day hero. I mean here is a man who, in case you made the lifestyle choice to spend the late 2000s/early 2010s under a rock, was the veteran pilot who managed to utilize his skill, tenacity, resourcefulness, and sense of calm to not only land a passenger jet in the middle of the Hudson River, but do so in such a way that he was able to ensure the safety of virtually all 155 people onboard the aircraft thus completely averting what could have been a genuinely horrific calamity and turning it instead into a celebration of everyday heroics. Suffice it to say then that this is a man who is more than just a national hero. Rather, he’s the kind of guy who should be speaking at university commencement ceremonies, sign copies of his biography “Sully on Sully” at book stores across the country, appear on the new season of Dancing With the Stars, and become the subject of a slice of cinema. All jokes aside though dear reader, there is at least one of those things which has happened for this icon. That of course being the subject of the 2016 slice of cinema, and film I am reviewing for you today, Sully. Yet despite being directed by none other than Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks in the lead role, it should be noted that this isn’t exactly the kind of movie you might think it to be. That being that this is a film that chooses to focus more so on the immediate aftermath of that infamous flight instead of either on the flight itself or on the full life story of its titular protagonist. Even with that distinct narrative structure in mind though, there is no denying that the story might be a bit on the thin side, but this is still a fairly good movie all things considered. Suffice it to say then that this cinematic flight might hit its fair share of bumps, but with the aid of really good work on both sides of the camera this is one ode to genuine and shameless heroics that most assuredly does right by the legacy of the titular individual at the heart of it.
The plot is as follows: Taking us back in time to 2009, Sully gets its intriguing narrative underway as we witness as a pilot named Chesley Sullenberger (or Sully for short) and his first officer Jeff Skiles climb aboard the US Airway plane they will be transporting 150 passengers and 3 additional flight crew on for a relatively quick 2-hour flight to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Yet as run of the mill as this particular flight has been so far, it isn’t long before we see it is thrown a serious curve ball. A curve ball that takes the form of a flock of birds showing up in the skies 3 minutes into the flight with the plane at an altitude of 2,800 feet and proceeding to completely and utterly damage both of the plane’s engines (how rude!). Thus, and without a whole lot of time to form a strategy, we see that our pilot duo makes the judgment call that they are not within the proper distance to try and make it back to LaGuardia or try and attempt a landing at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Instead, they decide to something that could be seen as a lot riskier to both the plane to say nothing of the safety/well-being of all the souls onboard in the form of landing the plane on no less a place than the Hudson River. Remarkably, as we soon see, not only are Sully and Skiles able to actually land the plane on the Hudson, but they are even able to do so in such a way that, some injuries aside, every single one of the 155 souls on board is able to survive this extremely harrowing ordeal. Now normally this would be the part of the story where the control room would then burst into applause, the city would declare our pilot extraordinaire no less than a hero, and he would be given a nice shiny medal before making a joke with the screen freezing on his smiling face and then the credits would begin to roll. Yet in an intriguing wrinkle we see that whilst the majority of the city (and quite a few other people) does consider Mr. Sully a hero for his actions in the cockpit, there isn’t exactly a medal waiting in the wings for this guy at the moment. This is because, whilst having to stay in New York City until the investigation into the incident wraps up, we soon learn alongside Sully that not only is there data which seems to hint that one of the engines might have still been operational, but that there have simulations run by the National Transportation Safety Board which seem to show that there might have been a chance for Sully to have landed the plane at either of the two airports relatively safely. Thus can our hero prove that his actions on that fateful flight were both heroic and right given the circumstances or is he about to be grounded for good? That I will leave for you to discover dear reader….
Now right off, it is worth noting that the work done behind the camera on this particular cinematic outing might not be amongst the best work done on a Clint Eastwood film, but it still manages to get the job done quite well all the same. For starters, it is worth pointing out that whilst you will never once have a single question in your mind as to the stance this film is wanting to have in regards this film still does a wonderful job of being rooted not only in the consistent degree of doubt felt by the titular character, but also in how this doubt to say nothing of the man’s own inherent humble manner manages to come into conflict against his reluctant new-found celebrity status. In addition, we also see that this manages to permit the film to engage in a methodical yet tense as heck build to showcasing for us the incident at the heart of the story. Yet in a delightful twist we see that whilst the incident is presented to us via flashback, it also does away with any sense of gimmickry or artificially constructed horror. Rather, we see that Eastwood instead desires to give us a very human and genuine compilation of all the little details both on the plane and amongst the various rescue crews that begin to showcase for us one heck of a picture and which are all supervised via a steady and controlled pro at the helm who ensures that everything is able to be equal parts riveting and even emotional without ever once giving us the feeling that what we are seeing unfurl is being exaggerated for the sake of “creative liberties”. Besides the dependably effective work done by Eastwood at the helm however, we see that this film is also blessed with not only an appropriate chill factor to the cinematography especially in making us feel like we are actually there in New York City during the winter (brrrr!!!), but also a utilization of IMAX cameras by Eastwood and co that actually manages to give this film a surprising positive. That being that not just do they give the scenes with the plane and NYC skyline a bit of a punch-up, but it also gifts even more low-key moments like Sully jogging to relieve his stress or a shot of his anxiety-stricken face with a potency appropriate to the emotions swirling around in that moment. We also see that this slice of cinema is gifted with a musical accompaniment from the noted jazz pianist Christian Jacob who honestly gives this film with his score a wistful and poignant radiance especially when it comes to the scenes in Manhattan set in the aftermath of the landing itself. With that said though dear reader, let’s be honest: if ever there was a film to have such gems on its soundtrack as On the Wings of Love, Waiting in the Wings, or Come Fly with Me this undoubtedly would have been the perfect film for it (especially in regards to the last entry on the list). All jokes aside though, there is no denying that whilst the work done behind the camera is dependably good it also manages to serve as another fitting example for how the director, much like the film’s hero, might actually be something of a brilliant pilot in his own right.
Of course, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that this slice of cinema is also in possession of a collection of wonderful performances by a game cast of players in front of the camera as well. This starts with Tom Hanks in the titular role and honestly he is fantastic here though given that this IS Tom Hanks we are talking about here I can’t lie and say that I am all that surprised by this. No he doesn’t really look a lot like the real-life Sully (despite admirably whitening his hair and trying to get Sully’s distinct moustache down pat), but where he really soars is how he manages to showcase a hushed and very private vibe that is very much in synch with who the real-life Sully is as a human being. Indeed, as portrayed by Hanks, this is not a guy who was ever prepared for the spotlight of fame to shine down on him for his actions in the cockpit that day nor did he really have the desire to be aglow in it once he did find himself in that rather distinct light. Rather, as even the real Sully has attested to in interviews, he was less a hero and more just someone who was doing his job to the best of his given ability. To that end, we see that Hanks is able to immerse himself into the anxiety felt by our hero and give each reticent gaze and reluctant answer he gives with an ease that is truly commendable. Indeed it is by no means a simple task for an actor to act as a human manifestation of stress due to how horrifyingly simple it is to go over the top with that particular emotion. For a skilled pro like Tom Hanks however, there is no denying that he does a grand job at weaving through the nuanced system of emotions that are smoldering just under Sully’s cool as a cucumber exterior whilst also coupling with an incredible comprehension at just what he is dealing with at pretty much any point in the movie be it when he and the rest of the flight crew are on Letterman, his interactions with everyday citizens and his wife, or even in the moments where we see him doing his part to ensure everyone on the plane has been able to get off safely to name but a few examples. Suffice it to say that Tom Hanks most assuredly is a genuine American cinematic treasure and the performance he gives here manages to just be further proof of this in action in the best way possible. Alongside Hanks though, this slice of cinema also manages to give us a winning performance from Aaron Eckhart in the role of co-pilot Jeff Skiles. Indeed Eckhart has long been one actor who I did enjoy seeing in other movies, but here we see that he does a fantastic job at being both this slice of cinema’s genuinely funny comic relief as well as the one person who knows what Sully is going through better than anyone and is willing to stand by his side no matter what. Finally, I also think praise should be given to Laura Linney for her role of Sully’s wife Lorraine. Yes the role is a bit one-note and yes it does look like Clint just filmed Laura at her house since virtually all of her screentime involves her being on the phone. Even with that in mind though, there is no denying that Linney still does a great job at making this character work even with those limitations in mind. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in fairly good efforts from such talents as Mike O’Malley, Anna Gunn, Jamey Sheridan, Holt McCallany, and Jerry Ferrara amongst others it’s clear that this cinematic flight might suffer from some turbulence, but the work done by this undeniably talented cast does do their best to keep things afloat.
All in all and at the end of the day is Sully “2016” a perfect and completely flawless in every way slice of cinema? Honestly, I would’ve loved it that did in fact turn out to be so, especially given the pedigree of the talent on both sides of the camera, but sadly that is not the case. At the same time though, is this the worst thing to happen to cinema since Clint *inexplicably* deciding to make a cameo appearance in (of all things) 1995’s Casper or Tom Hanks making his big-screen debut in a 1980 slasher entitled He Knows You’re Alone? Thankfully I can most assuredly say that this is definitely not the case either. If anything, I would say that this slice of cinema is one that manages to be really good but no more or less than that. Yes this film’s narrative if we’re being honest really doesn’t do a whole lot (if at all) in regards to fleshing out either the story that people around the world all saw on the news that fateful January morning or for that matter the man who found himself at the heart of that same story by any stretch of the imagination. As a result, this does cause this slice of cinema’s already swift 96-minute (including credits) runtime to resort a fair bit to having to go fishing for material to pad out the runtime with more than just a tad bit of mixed results at doing so. Having said that though, the rest of the work done behind the camera is fairly solid with Eastwood once again bringing his trademark equal mix of assertive yet very relaxed and composed to his work in the director’s chair and the filming of the actual crashlanding being one that will definitely leave you both on the edge of your seat and cheering at the titular hero’s genuinely impressive skill in a potentially disastrous situation whilst the work done by the undeniably talented cast of players in front of the camera definitely does the best they can with the material that they are given with particular regard to both Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart who are nothing short of utterly engaging from beginning to end in their respective roles of Sully and Jeff Skiles. Suffice it to say then that that Sully “2016” might not be a turbulent-free cinematic tribute to a genuine true-blue hero of the skies (even if he himself most assuredly does not see himself that way), but make no mistake dear reader when I tell you that it definitely is a heck of a lot smoother than it could have been as well. Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give Sully “2016” a solid 3.5 out of 5.
