Sully Review
Clint Eastwood has historically given us some pretty great films, but he’s been on and off recently. While Gran Torino (2008) was a smash hit, his next couple of films were pretty forgotten, especially Hereafter (2010), J. Edgar (2011) and Jersey Boys (2014). Then with American Sniper (2014), a huge box office smash and 6-time Academy Award nominated film, he made headlines with not just the film’s performance, but also the split way the film was perceived by the audience: did it encourage war and arrogant behavior, or was it a warning of PTSD and its effects on an otherwise normal man?
Whatever your feelings on the film, I’m sure you’ll not have such a split reaction to Sully, which really is a one-sided, very plain view of the heroic acts of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger with his January 2009 flight out of LaGuardia which ended up with duel-engine failure and a water-landing in the Hudson River. Of course like a previous Tom Hanks film, Apollo 13 (1995), we all know the story, and we all know how it ended. And for the most part, the film succeeds on the same lines that Apollo 13 did: it’s still thrilling, and we fool ourselves into believing for a few moments that it ended in disaster. While I don’t think Sully succeeds in the same way that Apollo 13 did, it’s still worth a watch.
I mentioned that the film is pretty one-sided, but then again, how many people in real life wanted to see the plane crash? Who hates the real Sully’s guts? Uh, nobody that has any self-respect or sanity, so the one-sided nature might come off for some as Eastwood just not going into controversial material the way he did with American Sniper, but it would have been inappropriate if it had, so that isn’t a criticism.
So what are some more strengths for the film?
Well, we’ll start with the star, Tom Hanks. Like Bridge of Spies (2015), he is great, but he doesn’t necessarily stand out as giving the performance of his career. Also great in the movie is Aaron Eckhart as co-pilot Jeff Skiles, and while a lot of the focus is on Hanks, Eckhart is just as good and offers some of the more comedic moments of the film, and always right before the film slips into melodrama. The special effects in the film are very well executed as well, but now for the main event: the depiction of the water landing. While I’m normally very critical of a film that’s out of sequential order, I’m fine with it if it’s well executed and has a point. Films like Gone Girl (2014), which if shown in chronological order ruins the movie, are reminiscent here and Eastwood’s decision to start with the investigation into the landing instead of just showing the damn thing off the top helps build the tension, because we know we’re going to get it. When it does happen, though, it’s exciting, exhilarating, and just plain thrilling. While the trailers might fool you into thinking the film focuses more on the aftermath of the events, the film actually spends about 35 minutes or so on the actual investigation with maybe ten minutes devoted to Sully’s personal life. We’ll get more on that later. So yeah, almost half the movie’s set on the flight, despite the ads promising its about the aftermath.
So there is a lot to like about Sully, but I had a couple of complaints that impacted my impression of the film. For one, there are too many fantasy or dream sequences where Sully imagines if he had tried to return to the airport and the plane crashes in the middle of Times Square or into a skyscraper. After the first one I thought it became redundant and predictable. Then there’s the wife character, Laura Linney, who gets all of three scenes to be worried on the phone while talking to her husband. I felt she was completely left out to dry and didn’t add as much as the filmmakers thought she was. And for me personally, I didn’t care for the flashbacks showing Sully as a younger man in the air force and his first flight. They felt like filler, and the film’s only 96 minutes long. While the pacing of the film is fine, I felt the ending was similar to that of American Sniper, they resolve everything too quickly and just end the film. I would have liked to have a scene where Sully returns to his aircraft piloting, which really did happen, though it was short-lived, and I had in mind a scene where he slowly counts the seconds as the flight takes off and as it passes the time that Flight 1549 had in total and he sighs in relief, saying something like “I wish they were all this easy”. Or have a scene where he actually gets to interact with his wife in the flesh.
There you have it: Sully has some very memorable moments and some great performances, but there is enough distractions for me that made me wish it was better. Sure, the average consumers might not care for the criticisms I had, but we all have different opinions, and these are mine. I sure do recommend it for those out there who have been disappointed by the summer movie season and who are looking for a tighter story and some good performances, and especially those who enjoy films showcasing the human condition. On that level, Sully flies very high indeed.
My rating: 7/10
I’m looking forward to seeing this. I think Tom Hanks is a great actor and does a good job of playing the every-man. The special effects look very impressive. I do like the sound of the alternates scenes you would have included, that is a brilliant idea.