Factually and technically brilliant

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2016)

Sully is probably one of the most detailed, factually and technically brilliant movies ever made of a real life event. Apart from some obvious CGI rendering of the plane which could have been done much better, I was amazed by how Eastwood has given the viewer a clear and accurate reconstruction of what exactly happened that day and almost from every angle.
However, having read the book of Sully, "Highest Duty", I feel that a lot if not most of the message of the movie would have completely gone over my head if I did not read the book. Sully's mentor at a young age and the story of how he successfully landed a damaged plane in his earlier military career was perfect from a cinematographic point of view, but I think it did not convey Sully's message of "a life dedicated to doing your normal job remarkably" clearly.
I appreciate that the movie tells the untold story of how Sully was almost blamed for his heroic actions through the investigation (not told elsewhere or in "Highest duty"), but the cheesy "wife crying on the phone"-type of storytelling misses an opportunity to inspire the audience to go home from the cinema and start preparing for their own "land on the Hudson" moment in their life, something which the book "Highest duty" most certainly does perfectly.
Nonetheless, Sully remains an amazing film which serves as an example of what a fine actor Tom Hanks is. I also enjoyed Aaron Eckhart in this film.