I think I went along with the general reaction when it was announced a film was to be made about the miraculous landing of US Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson river in January 2009. How could they make a film about an event that was over in a couple of minutes, no matter how thrilling that event was? Director Clint Eastwood has proven that, with a little bit of dramatic licence and using his usual non-fussy style, it can be done.
He sensibly focuses most of the story on the aftermath of the crash. The plane captain, Chesley Sullenberger (aka Sully) played by Tom Hanks tries to come to terms with the events whilst The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) carry out an investigation. Their concern is whether Sully could have landed the plane safely and conventionally. They are made out to be much more hostile towards Sully than they actually were, but that gives the film some impetus and adds an additional layer of jeopardy.
The crash itself is excellently depicted, with exemplary effects. The calm, matter of fact, actions by Sully and his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) enhance rather than detract from the tension. In fact, the film is very much a tribute to the people who did their jobs bravely under such trying circumstances, including the flight attendants and the people who rescued the passengers from the freezing water. That Sully is seen spelling that out to the NTSB towards the end of the film was unnecessary as we had just all seen that for ourselves. It also exemplified that, though enjoyable on the whole, the film does have some clunky moments. The nods to 9/11, reasonably subtly in the film but more overtly in the end credits, and Sully’s nightmares post crash – seemingly there just to shoe horn in more action sequences – are amongst the other examples of that.
However, this is solid entertainment with Hanks as good as he has been in some time.
Rating: 7 out of 10