Sully (**1/2)

Clint Eastwood has nothing to prove to anyone anymore. Having won a handful of Oscars and directed two Best Picture winners, we are only so lucky to have such an esteemed veteran behind the camera (he just turned 86 this past year). His repertoire covers a wide range of subject and setting, from westerns to historical pictures to modern fiction. He has hit's and misses. It's unfortunate that such an inspiring story as the Miracle on the Hudson could wind up so flat on the big screen.

It wasn't but a few years ago, and I know we all know the story - how Captain Sullenburger successfully ditched his US Airways flight into the river just outside of Manhattan and miraculously kept everyone on board alive and well. It was a 1 in a million landing, all the more spectacular and alarming for taking place so close to Ground Zero. The world proclaimed him a hero, but (you guessed it) some had initial doubts.

The story itself follows Sully in the immediate aftermath of the landing, when he and his copilot (Aaron Echart as Jeff Skiles) are hotel-bound while a hearing is underway to investigate the cause of the crash. Sully frequently calls his wife Lorraine (Laura Linney) at home to assure her that he is okay and will be home soon. The hearings proceed simultaneous to an endless barrage of news coverage and late night appearances. In the same day, Sully met with both Katie Couric and David Letterman.

The trailer promised a somewhat suspenseful story with a crash scene that would rival that of the movie "Flight." We flash back several times in the film to the actual incident, when birds struck both engines and caused the plane to lose forward thrust. The entire incident was so quick (200 seconds or so) that Eastwood devotes several scenes to show the crash in it's entirety from various perspectives. It's a Rashomon approach in many ways, and the effect is a powerful testament to the quick wits of not only Sully but the flight crew and the Coast Guard and even passersby watching a plane descend into the frigid Hudson River in disbelief.

Tom Hanks, of course, plays the titular character. He is barely there, so steadfast in his beliefs and quiet in his doubts, I don't think any other man would be as suited for the role. One would think that this would be a sure bet for an Oscar nomination (and well overdue: Hanks hasn't been nominated since Cast Away in 2000) but his performance is as muted and subtle as anything he has done. From crash to court hearings, Sully is played as a man you understand to be a real hero. He is quiet, determined, scared of being wrong but persistent when he knows he is right.

The villains (the National Transportation Safety Board who scrutinize his every move) are often laughable and there for the obvious reason of creating more cinematic drama. I don't know how factual the film is in regards to the final scenes, but we are led to believe that Sully is on the cusp of being fired for having endangered the lives of everyone on board. Flight simulations (and we see no less than 4 entire flight simulation sequences, mind you) prove that the plane could have landed safely at LaGuardia, and it comes down to a simple speech by Sully in which human error ultimately would have made landing on a runway impossible.

When the movie is good, it's good, but when it's not, it's apparent. There are many sequences of PTSD and such from Sully's perspective that feel taped on and hasty. A dream sequence in which Katie Couric presents a news story about Sully being a fraud is forced to say the least. Clint Eastwood has never been a meticulous director known for precision edits or immaculate framing. Sully simply feels like a rough cut that required a few more trims to make it feel concise. Hanks is great, of course, and the story is inspiring. The film itself leaves a bit to be desired. Still, for a man closer to 90 years old in age, I doubt you will find a more assured director working today.