Sully Review

Tom Hanks convicts so much power and steals each scene he is in, in the new Clint Eastwood film, Sully, a film made nearly all by his presence. Playing Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, a pilot who miraculously lands a plane on the Hudson when both engines were blown just after take off when the plane hit a flock of birds. As if Alfred Hitchcock did not already give us enough reasons to hate birds.

He learns that the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation, calling out that their tests prove he could have landed the plane safely on the runway he initially took off. There is more stuff here, more with the investigation, however their motive is generic movie "villain," where slimy businessmen, including a surprisingly effective Mike O'Malley as Charles Porter, do slimy things to our protagonist. I realize this is based on a real story, and not the "Blair Witch Project" kind of real story, and that this disagreement did actually happen. But the film gives the antagonists little to do except point the finger and learn their at the end of the ninety six minute long film. The highlight is Tom Hanks, a man disturbed by what could have happened instead of what did, as well as the realistic plane crash scenes. Those alone are enough to make you never want to fly again.

The other performances, including Aaron Eckhart as first officer Jeff Skiles and Laura Linney as Sully's wife Lorraine, are all fine, but their dramatic weight is light compared to Hanks. It is particularly obvious when Sully and his wife speak over the phone (which is their only means of communicating throughout the film), that Tom Hanks is in control of each scene, and Laura can only do her best not to forget her lines.

When the plane crashes, which we see various bits of and various variations of, there is technical jargon spat out by the pilot and first officer as the aircraft comes burning down, and honest panic by the passengers; the film should have spent more time here. We believe everything that happens, and when the ship went down, I felt as if I was one of the passengers with their tray table up and their seat in the full upright position.

There was this group of kids, rowdy teenage boys who heckled throughout the film, however, when Tom Hanks spoke, they quieted down. His performance is that good. And aside from some thrilling crash scenes, he is the best thing in an otherwise run-of-the-mill film.