A competent enough, but still flawed biopic

Rating: 7/10 (22 December 2016)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
On January 15th 2009, airline pilot Chelsey 'Sully' Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) was forced to take drastic action when the passenger airline he was commandeering ran into turbine trouble and began to nosedive down towards New York. Sully took evasive action, and glided the plane down toward the Hudson river, saving the lives of all the passengers on board. However, in the aftermath, his airline tried to hang him out to dry in order to avert blame for the disaster from themselves, and he and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) were forced to do a round of publicity to defend themselves.
Nothing produces better human drama than a real life drama, and plenty of them occur every day for Hollywood to bang out for the big screen (what with this and, for example, the up-coming Patriot's Day with Mark Wahlberg.) Clint Eastwood's latest dramatization has a really glossy, ready made feel to it, another Malpaso company production with none other than Tom Hanks in the lead role. Running at a far more condensed length of just over an hour and a half (rather than the two hours or so it would have ten/twenty years ago), it zips by and is a generally fine and polished piece, but sadly it's undeniably pretty flawed.
I didn't know much about this event, but in early 2009 it must have been something that took America by storm, and with 9/11 still fresh in everyone's minds, it undoubtedly must have caused some fear and panic. It was a tale that was indeed begging to be told, but sadly Eastwood's execution is a little disjointed, and the dramatization and the flashbacks to what happened are too blurred together to enjoy the story properly, whilst other strands, such as a scene where Sully's fascination with flying began as a child, is never explored any further. It's never sensationalist or sentimental, but it's still a bit flawed as a film.
Performances wise, in the lead, this is a role Hanks was pretty much born to play, and a role he can pretty much do in his sleep, portraying a reserved, dignified man whilst also quietly conveying his softer side in some private, emotional scenes. His presence adds to the overall smooth, glossed over feel to the film, though, while Eckahrt provides similar sturdy support along with Laura Linney as Sully's wife. It's an aesthetically pleasing film that is just a little too flawed to be perfect. ***