Sully: Miracle On The Hudson [4K Ultra-HD] [2016] [Blu-ray]

Masterfully constructed by Director Clint Eastwood and even-handedly depicted by writer Todd Komarnicki – 2016's "Sully" is a superlative film. You get to vividly see and feel the 208 seconds it took to land/belly-flop a stricken passenger jet on the Hudson River - where life or death lay in the hands of skilled men and their crew – all of whom kept their cool in the face of what must have appeared to be immanent loss.Right from the time the Airbus A320 was hit in ascent by flocks of birds (Canadian geese) thereby suffering catastrophic engine failure on both sides - to the moment the Captain and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles miraculously bring it to a floating stand-still on January-icy waters in the middle of New York City – you’re left breathless with admiration and just a little dumbstruck. Eastwood replays these terrifying moments three times – but from different perspectives...you get to 'see' and 'feel' the mind-blowing impact of what they did…The film "Sully..." has many great understated-performances least not of all from the duo of pilots played by Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart. The scope of what happened to those unsuspecting people on 15 January 2009 and their cabin crew's subsequent reputation-shafting by a defensive airline industry unfolds with genuine heart and amazing realism. Of course once on the sub-zero water - it becomes a race against time to make sure everyone survives – moments will count now and not hours. And I for one detected more than a few tears in the cinema when the Big Apple's finest went into serious rescue mode and did themselves proud - helping everyone to safety in less than 23 minutes. "...No one dies today..." - says one of the determined rescue staff as he blankets another frozen survivor.But through it all is Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger - the human factor in an inhuman scenario – a situational first no one had ever faced or trained for before in a simulator. Through his back-story you see that Sully was literally the man for the job (whilst in the army he'd handled previous in-flight failures with the same cool). You also quickly realise their staggering luck. Because if the passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 needed anyone at the helm just then - it was him and his right hand man - Skiles (Sully makes certain to tell all that it was a 'team' effort and not a solo one). And maybe it's just me but you also can't help think that as Captain Sullenberger took over the plane alone and applied his thousands of hours of flight experience to the situation – that somehow God was on New York's side that day.Eastwood draws out proceedings – snatched moments that make it real. Sully fretting the 155 count as passengers and crew stand on the wings - sit shivering in inflatable side panels - unwisely try to swim for shore - Sully searching one more time in a sinking inner cabin as his staff scream at him to leave the dangerously volatile hunk of steel. He is plagued with nightmares and flashbacks that his calculations could have been wrong - and that as he banked that morning and lost altitude (effectively losing control of the lifeless plane) – he could have crashed the fuel-laden jet straight into hi-rise buildings thereby causing another man-made 9/11.Or maybe he could have listened to his handler at flight control and made it back to La Guardia airport (he eyeballed the horizons). With the deftest of touch and not a little affection and admiration for a genuine American hero - Eastwood handles the tension, confusion and Sully's staggering calm in the face of such danger - with a class that is rare. There is no bombastic music here - grandstanding acting moments - it's just steady as she goes - they just all do their job. Pretty much what the real participants did on that fateful day. The industry of course tries to shaft the two flyers with pilot error – but the court case and simulations reveal a different story.A hugely enjoyable, intelligent and crafted film that does that rare thing - lifts you up and leaves you breathless with admiration for the quiet heroes amongst us."...Brace for impact..." indeed...

Not having previously heard of the near-disaster on the Hudson River until this film came out, I was astonished at the emotional impact it had on me. A British tv reviewer called it a One Trick Pony, so I thought perhaps the great Clint Eastwood had finally reached the end of his creative days in the director's chair. Not so! The storyline might be a little too subtle for some professional reviewers' tastes, but for amateur ol' me this film worked on every level. The caution of over reliance on technology to solve the world's problems also ties in well with the theme of Space Cowboys (an earlier Eastwood goodie, though much lighter in tone). If there's a message to heed in Sully, it's surely for us to be kinder to our 'ponies' who serve their country well, lest we too recieve the proverbial bullet in the head as we approach our own retirement.

This film tells the story how Captain Sullenberger was victimized by the N T S B investigators for doing what was and still is a courageous act, more interested in the insurance pay outs rather than the lives of the passengers and crew that were saved from almost certain death with his flying skills they were determined to discredit him. In simulation in order for the experts to have a successful glide path to an airport they had 17 attempts, a luxury Sully did not have, if HE made a mistake 150 people would die he could not try it again as if it was a computer game, one of the bests films I have seen for a long time, a credit to Tom Hanks and the director and producers for this remarkable film.

This is a brilliant film which demonstrates the calm and courage of the captain of the US Airlines flight which suffered the loss of both engines following a bird strike and which was forced to land on the Hudson River. This is a true story, and all the more powerful for that.Tom hanks as the captain, Sully, is magnificent, and completely believable as he handles the situation and then the enquiry which followed. The real captain, and the passengers feature at the end, given a very strong reminder that this was not just a movie, this was real

Tom Hanks is back in another real life situation movie. This time it's not "Houston we have a problem", but "We may have to land in the Hudson".Just as in Apollo 13, Hanks seems to portray a very honest reconstruction of the events, that is backed up by the special features which include interviews with the real life Sully.What I find incredible apart from the calm, in control attitude of Sully, is that on investigation, as portrayed in the film, the initial NTSB simulations tried to suggest that the plane could have made a runway because the simulations failed to acknowledge that it may have taken 35 seconds for the pilots to react or assess the reality of their situation. This was pointed out to them by Sully with clarity when portrayed by Hanks. If this is true and not a dramatisation, you would have to wonder what a bunch of idiot, desk job worth's the investigators must have been in not factoring the human reaction time.A fascinating and well made film.

Brilliant film...Its important to find out what happened by investigators after and they put Sully through a gruelling time...only his logic and humanity saved the people on the plane and himself and his co pilot at the hearing. He is indeed a modern day hero and this film is a record of what happened, the script was thoroughly read and amended by Sully (You Tube interviews) to make sure the right account was made.RECOMMENDED and all the family can see this absolutely gripping story... At last something went well.