"Sully"

“An imperfect film not to be missed”. That is BTN’s view on what might have been called “Miracle on the Hudson” if someone had not come up with that title first. 

The flm is out now on general release. Readers will know the story.

On 14 January 2010, US Airways Flight 1549 made a landing on New York’s Hudson River en route from La Guardia to Charlotte. It was not a crash, as Captain Chelsey Sullenberger points out to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) inquiry. “It was a controlled landing”, admittedly forced upon him.

Captain Phillips (sorry Tom Hanks, the well-known aviator who also flew Apollo 13) is superb as the highly-experienced (now retired) former US Air Force pilot who for many years prior to the A320 incident had lectured and written about air safety.

The film focuses on the NTSB enquiry, and it needed to. From take-off to splash down is just six minutes, not long for a Hollywood blockbuster. It is directed by Clint Eastwood, now 87, he of Rawhide and whose best ‘watery’ film is Escape from Alcatraz.

The 9/11 reminder is nonsense and should be taken out. Likewise the military sequence.

But see “Sully”. It is an old fashioned detective story! 

www.sully-movie.com/#home

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Gideon Ewers, UK

We went to see this film yesterday. While many of the aviation sequences were pretty good Eastwood avoided many of Hollywood\\'s usual aviation pratfalls for me the characterisation of the NTSB as nasty buffoons was unconscionable...I also marvelled at how all the "Airbus test pilots\\' were American...as far as I know there is only one jolly decent cove he is too. BTW the military and biplane sequences would make a lot more sense if you had read the book...which is much better....as books so often are.

Patrick Lukan, United States

Saw it last night. Fantastic ending on the screen and in real life.

leo fewtrell, Dubai. U.A.E.

Agreed terrific film, great acting, direction and action scenes and a great result to come out in the end.