Movie Review: Sully

The Untold Story Of Cactus 1549 – The Miracle On the Hudson.

  Most of you know I am an aviation enthusiast, some of you know all too well that I am an aviation freak!  Anytime I find a good article relating to aircraft or their operation I lap up all the technical data.  Upon hearing that a movie starring Tom Hanks and directed by Clint Eastwood was being made about the US Airways 1549 flight that made an emergency landing on the Hudson River on a cold New York morning January 15. 2009 (Almost 7 years ago today), I could not wait for it to get release, and tonight I was finally afforded the chance to sit down and watch it.

  It is quite clear that the film would not directly focus on the events we already know so well from following the wide media.  Instead the film focuses on the emotional toll the event played on the flight deck and cabin crew; the passengers, and the New York TRACON controller who frantically worked to keep Captain Sullenberger advised of the available landing options and to keep traffic out of his way.

  While the rest of the country celebrated an aviation event that up until that time had not been thought possible, that an airliner could make a controlled water landing without a single loss of life.  The people directly involved, including our hero Captain Chesley Sullenburger suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, resulting in loss of sleep, recurring nightmares and lingering doubts about whether he made the right decisions that day.  Sully offers us a glimpse of the aftermath not seen by the praising new reports we remember.

  While the movie took many liberties in the way the NTSB treated Captain Sullenberger, which even Sully himself has stated that the NTSB hearing in the film was made to look more like a prosecutorial process, instead of a necessary open minded process necessary to ensure the finding of the root cause of all transportation related accidents and ensure similar events do not occur in the future.

  Overall this was one of the most enjoyable films I have seen all year!  Tom Hanks as Captain Sullenberger has found a roll he was born to play.  It was refreshing to watch a version of this event that was purely technical in nature, focusing on real people and real emotion, and the toll an event like this has even if it has a successful outcome.

  I would highly recommend taking the time to watch this film, Great acting, a solid storyline (If I was doing a book review, I could say it could have ripped right out of the headlines!), So buy the DVD, or buy/rent the digital download on your favorite online movie store, grab some popcorn, and prepare for takeoff! Oh, and in the unlikely event of a water landing,…