Curator Watchlist
Sully
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.
Curator Watchlist
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.
Where to watch: Buy
Wed · 1h 36m
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Anna Gunn
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.
Clint Eastwood
Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Anna Gunn
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A taut real-world crisis film centered on command under extreme pressure, with a similarly controlled performance and procedural intensity.
Another aviation-centered drama about a pilot under investigation, balancing public heroism with private damage and self-doubt.
The gold standard for competence-driven survival drama, turning technical problem-solving into gripping suspense.
A measured, adult procedural about a man navigating institutional pressure with patience, skill, and moral steadiness.
Shares the newsroom-and-hearing-room energy of public accountability, with a focus on professionalism under scrutiny.
A courtroom pressure cooker about truth, authority, and the friction between procedure and moral certainty.
A smart, restrained drama about expertise, skepticism, and doing the job better than the people who doubt you.
A serious, methodical film about institutional resistance and the personal cost of standing by what you know is right.
A rescue story built on teamwork, calm expertise, and the suspense of difficult logistics rather than melodrama.
For viewers who enjoy high-stakes crisis management with a strong sense of professionalism and command.
A fact-based drama where persistence and credibility matter as much as the headline event.
Another Tom Hanks-era adjacent crowd-pleaser about endurance, dignity, and keeping composure under strain.
heroism, public scrutiny, professional competence, aviation, investigation, survival, institutional pressure, moral doubt
disaster drama, biographical drama, procedural, based on true events, survival, institutional scrutiny, middle-aged hero, quiet tension, aviation, prestige drama