Fine film of an extraordinary day in New York.

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2016)

One of the questions asked of this film is was Sullenberger a hero? Most of us have travelled by plane and I doubt many ever take any notice of the pilot or crew. Unless he was Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden I never pay much attention and we only hear them during announcements of the weather and such like. They dutifully stand there and wish us a good day as we depart but I can never remember their names or what they looked like by the time I get to baggage claim.
And that's fine as we don't burn the face and name of a taxi or bus driver into our memory and probably never see the train driver.
But they all have one thing in common. They take responsibility for our lives during the journey. I doubt many passengers ever consider this when they start the journey or care after they finish.
But what happens when something goes wrong?
We all saw the news and were astounded that this man managed to save ALL on board by doing the unthinkable. Landing a passenger jet on a busy river. I have been on the Hudson around Manhattan and there is a lot of traffic.
Clint Eastwood tells the story of that day and the subsequent investigation quite well. The acting is fine too. I am not a Tom Hanks fan myself but he manages a superb performance as Chesley Sullenberger and the supporting cast is good as well.
Some have questioned if this deserved a film but if something this incredible does not then frankly what does?
The story of that day is quite astonishing. The film shows how ordinary the time before the actual flight was. Passengers get ready to board and three rush to the gate and have to talk their way onboard after the gate was closed. We see the take off and then the disaster of the bird strike. Aaron Eckhart and Hanks portray the calmness that pilots need to work the problem when most of us would be screaming wrecks. The cabin crew, who we only notice when we need a drink, also show their professionalism at a time of crisis.
The river landing sequence is also rather impressive but I wager not as impressive as it was on the actual day.
Clint tells this segment rather well.
But sadly as in films of this type he saw the need to have a protagonist as all Clint's movies have a bad guy. He chose to sully (pun intended) the NTSB investigation who seemed to be looking for scapegoats and had their sights set on the two pilots. Sully brilliantly defeats the bad guys by turning their evidence on it's head and saving his reputation. These scenes were well acted but a rather stupid portrayal of professionals who do their job under the worst circumstances in order to learn what happened and what could be in turn learned for the future. One profound comment from one of the panel is that it was unusual to conduct these types of inquiry with both pilots present. That makes you think how hard it is for these people to do this job. They deserved better than Eastwood's slighting their integrity.
So the next time you set foot on a plane remember that these people not only take your lives in their hands for the duration of the flight but if anything goes wrong take the responsibility for that.
So was Sully a hero? Probably not by the strict definition of what a hero is! But he and his crew did something exceptional that day and showed tremendous courage. But without his contribution we probably would not remember them.