“Everything is unprecedented until it happens for the first time”
If you were to ask someone to tell you who their hero was, their answers would vary as much as the people you would ask. A hero is someone who affects your life in a way that is profound and has a lasting effect on you. My hero has always been my father, as a role model and as a retired Firefighter, as he put his life on the line so that others could live. Some men and women make career choices that can put them in a position to be one, while others just become one by being at the right place at the right time. Chesley Sullenberger was one of those people who became a hero out of circumstance, one that many won’t forget anytime soon.
The day of January 15th, 2009 was just another day at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. US Airways flight 1549 was leaving around 3:30 pm Eastern Standard Time when shortly after take off trouble arouse. A flock of seagulls collided with the plane causing Captain Sully (Tome Hanks) and his co pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) to try and make the best decision to save the 155 souls on board. Knowing that they could not return where they came from or make any nearby airport, Sully made the difficult decision to aim for the Hudson River. The aftermath would be known as “Miracle on the Hudson”, as Sully successfully carries out a water landing while saving everyone on board.
Telling this story was going to take the right people involved to take it where it needed to be. Getting Clint Eastwood behind the camera and Tom Hanks to play Sully, and well, mission accomplished on that. While Hanks is always golden, being the national treasure he is, it is Eastwood who has missed the target more often lately. While “Sully” is not as masterful of a story as the pilot it is about, it still hits very little turbulence. The smooth part of the flight is with Hanks of course, as he effortlessly becomes Sully. The other highpoint in the film is the crash sequence itself, which even though you know the outcome doesn’t lessen the tension. Where the film starts to lose altitude is in the pace, with a little of an hour and half still feeling a little long. That though is not enough to take away the good. Watching the rescue scene, it is hard not to feel good about people, as you watch them come together to save lives. Like when it happened, this film is a light in the darkness that can be the world sometimes. It is good to see a film like this come around, one that will make you believe in humanity. “Sully” is not a masterpiece, but what it is, is a good film, and you can never have too many of those.
