'SULLY' : Movie Review

A possible disaster movie that prefers to muddle around with interminable investigations, 'Sully' works around a true life incident that happened as recently as 2009, when Captain Chelsey "Sully" Sullenberger successfully landed a planeload of 155 passengers in an Airbus 320, in the middle of the Hudson river after the engines of the plane fail to fire up.

Eastwood makes this 'Highest Duty (book based on the incident authored by Sullenberger himself)' much more than just a disaster potentiate. The repetitive assault of potential scenarios being played out by the investigating team hell-bent on questioning Sully's every move and decision makes for frequent thrills. A near tragedy was averted by the alert and able Sully but the investigators are just not buying it for now. So he is put through the grinder, questioning his every intent and action both prior to and during the eponymous event. Of course nothing earth-shattering (remember Denzel Washington's pilot in 'Flight?') turns up. The dramatic safe landing of a US airway jet flying low without functional engines which did not have time enough (just 4 mins before point of impact) to return back to La Guardia airport, is what actually happened but the various what if's are tried out in order to get to the real truth about what happened that January 15th.

The opening sequence rings the alarm bell. What if Sully and his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart), decided to try to make it back to where they took off, La Guardia? And Eastwood doesn't spare you the blushes here. He shows you the possible fiery crash into Manhattan buildings. It's an image that haunts Sully in the post event aftermath. He is hounded by reporters and his wife (Laura Linney) remains highly strung. Some TV anchors are even suggesting that Sully made a monumental blunder in landing the plane on the river.

The drama is mostly generated from the National Transport safety Board investigation point of view. Sully's heroism is muted much like the calm and composed man himself who is not given to vivid displays of emotion. The grey haired Captain's values are put to the test and found steadfast. The story is at best just a two liner but it's Todd Komarnicki's screenplay that makes it much more. Around 25 mins into the film we get a detailed account of the flight upto the point of impact and a little later it's the difficulties in evacuation in winter conditions.

This is Clint Eastwood's 36th feature as a director and it's his shortest yet. At 96 minutes running it's crisp, taut and tense and his trademark contemplation gives way for a more robust and energetic pace - you never get bored or lose interest. Clint's main aim here is to salute the professionalism of the brave heart who saved so many lives and he does it with cumulative substantiation. Sully might have doubts about his own role but the audience are sure to root for him right from the word go. A white haired, mustachioed Tom Hanks gives the role an elegance and dignity that a lesser actor might not have managed. Laura Linney and Aaron Eckhart, though have precious little to do - this is after all Hank's showboat. The film, shot in Imax cameras is visually impressive given the magnitude of the format and the seamlessness of the visual effects. Blu Murray's editing serves up a pace that seems so unlike the traditional Eastwood that you're likely to be far more edgier here than you were while watching any of his earlier films. This is an experience that will leave you entertained for sure!