Tom Hanks & Clint Eastwood’s $240M Drama From 9 Years Ago Is Now Streaming & It Deserves Another Look

Clint Eastwood’s riveting drama Sully is currently streaming on Max, and the film’s sudden boost in popularity is a sharp reminder of just how underrated this project has been. The movie tells the real-life story of a commercial pilot named Captain Chesley who makes an emergency landing on the Hudson River after his plane is damaged during a flight. It’s an extremely tense and gripping story about how split-second decisions can define our lives, and it remains one of Clint Eastwood’s best-directed Movies.

And yet, despite the level of talent both in front and behind the camera, Sully is still a hugely underrated movie that doesn’t always receive the recognition that it deserves. Although the film was popular on release and gave a much-needed boost to Eastwood’s reputation as a modern director, it seems to have exited the cultural consciousness in recent years – particularly in comparison to other projects from 2016. It’s rarely considered among Tom Hanks’ best movies, despite his powerhouse performance and the obvious storytelling ability on display.

Clint Eastwood & Tom Hanks’ Biopic Sully Is One Of 2016’s Best Movies

The Drama Deserves More Respect For Its Gripping Story

Despite being less than ten years old, Sully is a reminder of the kinds of adult dramas that just aren’t popular anymore. Its storytelling is slow and methodical, and Eastwood knows exactly how to use his characters to develop the film’s themes in fascinating and unconventional ways. There isn’t a single wasted scene in its 90-minute runtime; even those moments that don’t seem important on the surface end up being crucial to understanding Sully’s message about the dangers of operating outside of the handbook and following instincts instead of instructions.

As with most of Clint Eastwood’s movies, Sully was expected to be a major awards player at the 2017 Academy Awards, but the film didn’t quite manage to receive the Best Picture nomination that many were anticipating. This was a huge disappointment and an undeniable hit to the movie’s reputation, as it was overshadowed by several other mid-budget dramas that critics simply enjoyed more. Additionally, Sully has been overshadowed within the director’s catalog by Clint Eastwood’s other movies that performed better at the Oscars.

Tom Hanks Was Snubbed Of A Best Actor Oscar Nomination For Sully

The Actor Deserved More Awards Attention For His Role

The final nail in Sully’s coffin was Tom Hanks’ failure to secure the Best Actor nomination at the Oscars for his work in the movie, which was considered a shoo-in upon its release. The academy decided instead to reward Casey Affleck for his work in Manchester By The Seawhich is admittedly one of his strongest performances to date. The other nominations went to Denzel Washington for FencesViggo Mortensen for Captain FantasticAndrew Garfield for Hacksaw Ridgeand Ryan Gosling for La La Land.

This was one of the most stacked Best Actor lineups in the history of the Academy Awards, but while every single actor was deserving of their nomination, it’s still shocking that Tom Hanks didn’t make the cut. His work in Sully is some of his best; it’s emotional and vulnerable in all the right measures, but it’s also very intense in the film’s more action-packed moments. It may not be the biggest Oscar snub of all time, but it was a major surprise nonetheless.

Sully Was A Surprisingly Big Box Office Hit In 2016

The Film Outgrossed Most Of Hanks’ Recent Movies At The Time

Beyond its critical acclaim and excellent lead performance, Sully also performed extremely well at the box office. The film grossed $35 million in its opening weekend and went on to collect a further $208 million across the world, for a total gross of $243 million (via Box Office Mojo). This was extremely impressive for a non-franchise movie that’s essentially aimed exclusively at adults and considered by many to merely be an awards player. These kinds of films don’t often perform too well at the box office, but Sully’s star power and acclaimed director made it an exception.

Sully’s box office success was also a much-needed win for Tom Hankswhose previous dramas hadn’t been performing as well as the actor had surely hoped. Bridge of Spies was released the preceding year and grossed just $165 million across the world, while Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks collected $117 million in 2013. These were disappointing numbers for an actor who was once considered the biggest draw in Hollywood, so Sully was a much-needed return to form.

The reason for Sully’s success at the box office can be credited to two major factors: firstly, the real-life story of Captain Sullenberger’s emergency landing was still fresh in the minds of Americans, having taken place just seven years before the film’s release. Secondly, Eastwood’s previous film American Sniper had also been a huge hit, securing a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. The combination of these two factors clearly incentivized many people to seek out the movie who otherwise may have passed on it. And yet, Sully still doesn’t rank among Clint Eastwood’s highest-grossing movies.

Juror No. 2 Is Now Clint Eastwood’s Best Directed Movie Since Sully

The Director’s Recent Project Is A Comforting Return To Form

Since the release of SullyEastwood has struggled to find the same level of acclaim with any of his recent movies – until last year’s Juror #2. The director’s most recent movie was nowhere near as commercially successful as Sullybut it was a huge player with critics and widely loved by those few audiences who did see it. The courtroom thriller follows a young man who’s summoned to jury service, where he realizes that he’s actually responsible for the crime that’s being investigated in court.

With an excellent lead performance from Nicholas Hoult, a gripping screenplay by Jonathan Abrams, and reliably keen direction from Clint Eastwood, Juror #2 is an excellent movie that criminally underperformed at the box office. It’s the kind of story that takes an incredibly simple concept and stretches it to its limits, without ever letting it break under the pressure. Eastwood takes the audience on a wild ride of highs and lows, forging a complex protagonist whose ambiguous morals and ulterior motives make him endlessly intriguing to watch. It’s the director’s first project to rival Sully, but hopefully not his last.