Clint Eastwood delivers a mediocre film

Rating: 6/10 (22 September 2016)

Clint Eastwood's "Sully ", a film about Chesley Sullenberger's legal and personal battles after the "Miracle on the Hudson", is a film that satisfies the audience by utilising strong performances and converting an intriguing story onto the silver screen. But the film ultimately falls short of great, and it finishes leaving a mediocre taste in the viewer's mouth.
One of the strengths in "Sully" is its humanistic values and traits that are portrayed within the character of Chesley Sullenberger. "Sully" successfully attempts to paint the picture of Chesley as a hero, who acted in the best interests of humanity, rather than the interests of money(being the plane). A combination of his heroic morale and human flaws combine an interesting and deep character, and furthermore allows the audience to connect to the story. But that's as far as Eastwood allows the audience to connect.
While the performances are strong and the message is dominant, the film fails largely to take any risks, with either the depiction of the story, or the story itself. The cinematography, lighting and composition is largely dull to look at, besides the few scenes where Sully is having nightmares. The visual aspect of the film lacks heavily, and the whole visual side of the film feels like it's just there to support the dialogue, which, at moments, feels lazy and cliché. The story at times feels insufficient to be made into a film, which doesn't give true justice to the story itself.The depiction of Chesley Sullenberger, however, give justice to the man, and provides the backbone to the films quality.
"Sully" is definitely worth a watch, but having high expectations of the film will leave you flat. If you liked any of Eastwood's recent work, such as "Invictus" or "American Sniper", then this film should appeal to you.