Hanks with just another home run

Rating: 9/10 (12 September 2016)

Who else to pick to play US Airlines hero pilot Sullivan other than Tom Hanks, the theatrical Everyman of our generation? Henry Fonda did this sort of thing when I was a kid, but I was never a big Fonda guy. Hanks is fine as the modest but competent pilot excelling under extreme pressure. This was a short movie, and rightfully so. The real drama is in the reenactment of the forced water landing (don't use the "c" word) which takes all of about 3 minutes in real time. But don't be surprised when you don't see all the excitement up front. The screenplay, artfully done, doles out the thrills throughout the movie. So Hanks and Eckhart are great as the pilots, the persons playing the NTSB officials investigating the near-crash do a nice job although their attitude is a little over the top. Even before reading a recent article about NTSB response to the movie, I was wondering if the NTSB's attitude was a bit overplayed. This movie needed a couple of important lines to express NTSB concern, including "we are mandated to look at everything when a forced landing occurs, and discount the possibility of pilot error"; along with "landing on the Hudson is a last choice, we have to fully explore whether the plane could have returned safely to the airport". You don't get quite enough of that here. There is a difference between a complete and thorough investigation and a witch-hunt; and we need to look at possible pilot error not just for evaluating the pilots in question but as a learning experience for all pilots going forward. But the movie as it is plays out nicely, all the bells and whistles are out, and the scenes through the credits of the actual pilot and passengers were much appreciated.