Movie · 2016 · Drama, History · 1h 36m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 5.5/10 (618K ratings)
The untold story behind the miracle on the Hudson.
Overview
On 15 January 2009, the world witnessed the 'Miracle on the Hudson' when Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 souls aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and career.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.5/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.49/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Metacritic: 74
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Clint Eastwood
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures, Malpaso Productions, RatPac Entertainment, Flashlight Films, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Village Roadshow Pictures
Cast
Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Anna Gunn, Holt McCallany, Mike O'Malley, Jamey Sheridan, Valerie Mahaffey, Delphi Harrington, Ahmed Lucan, Laura Linney, Laura Lundy Wheale, Onira Tarés, Gary Weeks, Katie Couric, Jeff Kober, Blake Jones, Molly Bernard, Chris Bauer, Jane Gabbert, Ann Cusack
Where to watch
USA Network
Curator Review
Verdict
A sturdy, adult procedural built around a single extraordinary event and the pressure of public scrutiny. It’s less about spectacle than competence, doubt, and the cost of being judged by people who weren’t there.
Best for
Viewers who like fact-based dramas about crisis management
Fans of restrained, old-school studio craftsmanship
Audiences who enjoy Tom Hanks as calm, burdened professionals
People interested in aviation, investigations, or public accountability
Skip if
You want a fast-paced disaster movie
You prefer broad emotional catharsis over procedural understatement
You’re looking for a deeply complex character study
You dislike movies that revisit the same event from multiple angles
Overview
Sully is one of Clint Eastwood’s cleanest pieces of filmmaking: economical, unfussy, and sharply focused on a single moral question. It takes a widely known rescue and turns it into a drama about professionalism under pressure, then complicates the heroism by asking what happens when institutions begin to second-guess the people who did their jobs best.
Worth noting
Tom Hanks is perfectly cast as a man whose calm becomes its own form of tension. The film’s strongest material comes from the contrast between the public celebration of the landing and the private anxiety of the investigation, with Aaron Eckhart giving the movie a welcome jolt of warmth and camaraderie.
Bottom line
It is not a movie of huge surprises, and some of the hearing-room repetition can feel a little schematic. But as a piece of mature, efficient studio drama, it lands with real force and a clear-eyed respect for experience, instinct, and luck.
Top Letterboxd reviews
James (Schaffrillas) (3★) · 2901 likes
Completely inaccurate, he did not listen to Evanescence once
David Sims (5★) · 1465 likes
155 souls
Patrick Willems (4★) · 1020 likes
Came to the brink of tears when everyone started talking about how great Sully is (he's really great)
SilentDawn (5★) · 906 likes
Previously an 88, now a 94
If you ever need to be convinced of the class-act bravura of Tom Hanks, look no further than in the difference between two relatively similar scenes in two recent films: Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips and Clint Eastwood's Sully. Both have a moment where Hanks' character is being surveyed at a medical office after a traumatic event, but whereas Captain Phillips is seen in a state of shock, tearing up at every move and sound… more
ava adore (3.5★) · 875 likes
"Is there anything you would've done differently?"
"I would've done it in July!"
The committee erupts into complete laughter manically, they will not yield. This is the funniest fucking shit they've ever heard in their life. First Officer Jeffrey Skiles (played by Aaron Eckhart) should do stand-up. The movie abruptly ends on this high note of comedic genius.