Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Sully’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When it comes to films that are ‘based on a true story’ I think we can all agree that the end result is often hit or miss. After all, we all know deep down that these movies take creative license to keep the drama going since real life is a touch on the dry side. But successful films in this particular genre are the ones that take care to truly examine the human condition and take us inside the moment in question and recently, I was finally able to see a motion picture that chronicles a moment in time that met that all important criteria in Sully.

Now for those unfamiliar with this movie and the event it is based upon, Director Clint Eastwood takes us back to 2009 to re tell the tale of the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’, wherein U.S. Airways Flight 1549 was forced to crash land in the Hudson River shortly after its takeoff from LaGuardia Airport after being hit by a flock of birds and the miracle that this event refers to is the fact that Captain Chelsey ‘Sully’ Sullenberger was able to land the plane with such skill and precision that no one lost their lives on this fateful day.

Now there are several reasons as to why Sully stands above the usual ‘based on true events’ style of motion picture, starting with the fact that it does a phenomenal job of holding nothing back. There's a strong attempt to not over-dramatize the Miracle on the Hudson, instead the film works to recreate it with accuracy and replicate the emotions the crew and the passengers experienced in that moment and the end result of this effort is a tense and powerful set of scenes that chronicle every critical second and decision and well... despite the fact that you may know how the story ends, you still feel a genuine sense of danger and hold your breath in anticipation as you wait for Sully, his crew and the good people of Flight 1549 to be rescued after slamming down into the ice cold water of the Hudson.

However, while the crash and subsequent rescue are incredibly thrilling, what really caught my eye when it comes to this motion picture is the fact that it challenges the notion of heroism. We often view heroes as these incredible people who do incredible things and here, this film accomplishes two key things; it humanizes heroes by showing us how men like Sully handle a brush with death and oddly enough, how we as a society look for cracks in the armor of such men since the NTSB more or less plays the villain role of the film by trying to prove that Sully had time to get his plane back to an airport and risked lives in unnecessary fashion. It's a fascinating new take on events such as this, one grounded in reality and that forces the audience to ponder upon some of the hard truths that come with saving lives. 

Finally, one cannot talk about this film without talking about Tom Hanks and his performance as Captain Sullenberger because once again, Tom is simply brilliant. He truly has become one of the finest actors in the business and once you get past the 'oh hey, it's Tom Hanks' moment, you're once again sucked in by a transformative performance from the man as he becomes Sully. Either way, this is a fascinating little film, one that pulls no punches and draws you in and if you're looking for a harrowing story that takes you on a wild ride before delivering you to safety with a smile on your face, look no further, and you'll be glad you checked this film out, because it's rare that a disaster flick, one based upon reality for that matter... ends in such happy fashion. 

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