Everyone loves a bit of Tom Hanks, he’s like the parfait of actors! I feel like I’ve neglected him a little lately though. Even though I tried, I just couldn’t get into Bridge of Spies last year, and I haven’t seen Inferno yet, either. I’ll catch up on the latter, promise. The trailer for Sully seems to have been everywhere in the run up to it’s release in the UK, and that clip on the plane where that lady sends what she must be thinking is her last text message makes me well up every time I see it. I don’t think my eyes have ever threatened to cry at a trailer before!
Sully (2016) is the movie retelling of the events that happened in New York on 15th January 2009 when he landed US Airways flight 1549 onto (into?) the Hudson River, after both engines failed from a bird strike shortly after take off. Captain Phillips Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) was hailed a hero after the landing when it was confirmed that all 155 passengers and crew survived, but an investigation was started to find out whether Sully could have actually turned back, or landed at a nearby airport.
I’ll admit that even though I recall this event taking place, I didn’t know any of the details, which in all honesty, makes a movie like this all the more compelling to watch. I just can’t even imagine how it must have felt to be Sully in that moment when the birds struck the engines. A few years ago when driving my car home, my brakes failed and I freaked the hell out, how on earth does someone stay so calm when both engines fail whilst flying over New York city?! It’s chilling stuff, I tell you.
As horrifying as the actual events on the plane were, it almost pales in comparison to the actions of the board in charge of the investigation. Never have a group of people in a movie made me so angry. I understand why these investigations take place, but there needs to be some human decency involved. Maybe these scenes were dramatised slightly, but they treated Sully and his co-Pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) like criminals.
The scenes involving the plane’s emergency landing were so well done. It makes me wish that I’d gone to see it in IMAX. Mixed in with my feelings of rage were also soft warm feelings at the kindness of everyone involved in rescuing those 155 people. I don’t remember the exact count but it was literally a matter of minutes, rather than hours, to get everyone on dry land. I got quite teary on more than one occasion.
What I found most spectacular was during the end credits when photos were shown of actual incident back in 2009. When I say that it was a perfect re-enactment, I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. It’s uncanny!
So it’s thumbs up all round from me, but an extra thumb for Tom Hanks, who is an acting chameleon in more than one way. Here he is as Sully, next to the actual Sully, and here he also is, doing his best impression of Bill Murray. Just kidding, that’s actually Bill Murray himself, but this is my favourite celebrity photo of 2016!
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, Sully gets 4 planes out of 5 from me.
Nice review, Allie! I just watched this recently, and Tom Hanks was so good! I was surprised how compelling the story was even though I saw the news when it happened but didn’t know many of the details either. The re-enactment was stunning and terrifying.
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Thank you! Tom Hanks is just one of those amazing actors who always seems to put in 110% percent. I’m so glad I got to see that re-enactment in the cinema, it gave me chills!
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It’s a shame they felt the need to add drama to the investigation (in the real world they weren’t quite so accusatory), because its an extraordinary story itself. Loved the film, Sully can modestly claim to be just doing his job, but to me, and many other millions, he is a hero.
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It stuck out like a sore thumb, too! I guess it forced us as the viewers to side quite fiercely with Sully, but I was already onboard! He’s certainly a hero in my eyes.
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– “Would you have done anything different?”
– “Yeah. I’d have landed in July”
Some great lines in there. Tom, is like Denzel and Leo for me. One of those actors I’ll watch in pretty much anything.
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Definitely! There’s just a small handful of people that once you see they’re involved in a movie, you know it’ll be good 🙂
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Anyone you’d add to that list?
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I feel like I could dedicate a whole post to a list like that! Some are solid choices, and I would add Amy Adams for sure, and others are just guilty pleasures 🙂
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Thanks for the review! I’m not going to lie, I actually walked out of the theater when I went to see it. (To be fair, I kind of snuck in in the first place). I loved Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips, but I thought this movie was so boring. I guess I didn’t expect it to focus so much on the Federal investigation rather than the plane crash itself. Maybe I would appreciate the movie more now that I know exactly what it’s about.
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Ha! I was about to say I’d never walk out after paying good money but if you snuck in anway!
It’s a slow burn movie for sure but I think it was saved by Tom Hanks. It ramps up a bit in the second half!
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