Sully - B+

Quick Hit: Bristling with good acting, a good story, and Aaron Eckhart’s mustache.

Sully tells the story that many people are probably both familiar and unfamiliar with – the story of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the man who landed a plane on the Hudson. Many people knew the story of the heroic landing in which no people were lost, but few people knew the story behind the story of the internal investigation into Sully’s actions. It’s an interesting dilemma when you get down to it: insurance company has to get paid, airline has to get paid, but people have to get saved, and when the public is involved, everything is all messed up.

Sully doesn’t really focus on the crash, which is good. Most films would have pulled us in and had an entire film on a plane (not always  terrible – see  Red  Eye  or  Flight Plan).  Instead, we  are  treated  to  a 

character study. We see a man in the grips of deep, questioning despair as he truly begins to doubt himself. For some, the film may be too slow because of its focus on Sully instead of the crash itself – but I think it makes for a very interesting film overall.

Sully, played by Tom Hanks, almost seems 

aloof at times from the people he is around. It’s not that he’s rude, but instead, simply that he is committed to good work in what he does, and that eats up any social skills he has. When asked why he landed the plane on the Hudson, he states that he eyeballed it. Whereas often times this phrase used before a bad thing (like, “I eyeballed the measurements and now my couch doesn’t fit in the door”), here it exudes pure confidence. But as the National Transportation Safety board continues to question Sully, he begins to question himself. We’re allowed to question him as well, as we see small parts of the film in flashback to the plane crash itself.

Overall, Hanks is what makes the movie watchable. Though Eckhart (and his mustache) does an admirable job at adding some basic heart to the role of adoring co-pilot, he ends up a bit of a charactericture. That’s my only problem with the film. Most of the characters that work at the NTSB, those that I know are capable of much better acting from the TV series they came from – Mike O’Malley (Glee), Jamey Sheridan (Law and Order, Arrow, Homeland) and Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) do everything short of cackling after making comments to Sully. They’re worse than Disney villains, and their about-face is so quick it makes your head hurt.

​Honestly, where I was most surprised with Sully? The run time. For a Clint Eastwood film, the running time of just over 90 minutes makes for a quick walk in the park.

I enjoyed Sully but I’m giving it a “B+” because Hanks is the  only  one worth  watching,  and  the 

turn of events is fairly predictable, and I’m giving extra leeway on that because it actually happened.

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