Sully
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Hanks
Plays Hero Pilot in Riveting Reenactment of the Miracle on the Hudson
US
Airways Flight 1549 had barely taken off from New York's LaGuardia
Airport on the afternoon of January, 15, 2009 when it sighted Canada
geese flying in its path at about 2,800 feet. The Airbus 320 was
unable to avoid the flock and the ensuing strike disabled both of its
engines.
At
that point, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger
immediately took control of the powerless plane from co-pilot Jeff
Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) and informed the tower of his dire
predicament. After weighing his options in the next few seconds,
Sully ignored air traffic controller Patrick Harten's (Patch Darragh)
suggestion to return to LaGuardia in favor of the fateful decision to
ditch the crippled jet in the Hudson River.
Thanks
to a combination of calm seas and the veteran Captain's years of
experience as both a glider pilot and flight safety instructor, the
plane managed to make a smooth landing without triggering a fire or
disintegrating upon impact. Instead, the 155 souls aboard found
themselves simply floating downstream as the cabin slowly filled with
icy water.
Sully
ordered his passengers and crew to disembark into the inflatable life
rafts and onto the wings where they were soon rescued by the
commercial ferries and emergency vessels rushing to the scene.
Amazingly, not a single life was lost in the crash quickly dubbed the
"Miracle on the Hudson."
Directed
by Clint Eastwood, Sully revolves around not only a reenactment of
the death-defying stunt but around the subsequent investigation by
the National Transportation Safety Board. What we learn here is that
while Captain Sullenberger was publicly being celebrated as a
national hero under an avalanche of positive press, the wisdom of his
water landing was simultaneously being questioned behind closed doors
by the NTSB's brass.
It
seems that the specialists assigned to investigate the matter
suspected that the missing Flight 1549 engine sitting at the bottom
of the sea might have been operational, meaning the plane could have
been brought down on terra firma without incident. If this were the
case, then a reprimand rather than acclaim would be in order for
Sully. Ultimately, divers did locate the left engine, thereby
enabling the government bureaucrats to belatedly confirm that the
second-guessed skipper did deserve his many accolades after all.
Kudos
to the team of Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks for successfully
conveying the enviable amalgam of guts, smarts and stoicism exhibited
by level-headed Captain Sullenberger in the face of impending demise.
Pack the Kleenex, if you plan to stick around for the film's closing
credits featuring an oh so sweet reunion of the real-life Sully and
many of the grateful folks whose lives he saved.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG-13
for peril and brief profanity
Running time: 96
minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers Pictures
To see a trailer for
Sully, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjKEXxO2KNE
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