never forget the human factor (uh oh: Steve Mnuchin participated)

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2017)

On 15 January 2009, something never before achieved in aviation occurred. A pilot landed his plane on the Hudson River after a flock of geese struck the plane, causing it to lose engine power. The pilot, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger - called Sully for short - earned ample praise for his landing of US Airways Flight 1549 and saving all the crew and passengers. But the story had only just begun.
Clint Eastwood's "Sully" looks not only at the landing, but at the investigation. The NTSB thought that Sully hadn't done what he should have and held several hearings about it. But Sully knew something that they didn't.
Admittedly, the audience knows what the outcome is, so it's not that suspenseful. But even so, the movie reminds us that the human factor is one of the most important things in any decision. Tom Hanks does his usual outstanding job as the pilot whose sudden celebrity risks getting overshadowed by the investigation. Good support comes from Aaron Eckhart as the co-pilot, and Mike O'Malley (Burt on "Glee") as one of the investigators. I thought that Laura Linney as Sully's wife didn't get enough screen time. It would've been interesting to see how the event affected their relationship.
Anyway, it's not a masterpiece - not Eastwood's best by any stretch - but I still recommend it. I guess that a slight downside is that Steve Mnuchin was involved in the production (I guess that he invested in it).