Movie Review: 'Sully'

Tom Hanks takes on the role of real life hero Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger in "Sully,"a new film directed by Clint Eastwood. Time Warner Cable News film critic Neil Rosen filed the following review.

Back in 2009, Sullenberger miraculously landed a commercial jet in the middle of the Hudson River after a flock of birds blew out both engines. All 155 passengers and crew survived.

The focus of the film is not only on the flight and the incredible landing, but also on the investigation that was conducted afterwards. The National Transportation Safety Board's feeling was that Sully was in error and could have safely made it back to a New York area airport without endangering the lives of everyone on board.

That's how director Eastwood takes a story where everyone knows the outcome and somehow finds a way to make it suspenseful and exciting, because we the audience start to have our doubts too.

As Sully, Hanks is perfectly cast. It's a well-crafted, understated performance as a man who's haunted by the incident, cool and calm under pressure and uncomfortable in the role of hero.

The other star of the film is the amazing landing and rescue, which is spectacularly filmed. Most of us have seen the real footage of the passengers on the wings awaiting rescue, but Eastwood puts you on the jet with them, as well as in the cockpit every step of the way.

The supporting cast, which includes Aaron Eckhart as the co-pilot and Laura Linney as Sully's wife, are left with little to do. Their characters are extremely underwritten, as are backstory snippets of several passengers.

But that aside, it is a satisfying film that does justice to an event that has been dubbed "The Miracle On The Hudson."