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In the real-life drama "Sully," director Clint Eastwood faithfully recaptures the events of the "Miracle on the Hudson," but barely scratches the surface of the emotional state of pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.

Maybe that was inevitable, since Sullenberger seems to be — like Chris Kyle, the real-life protagonist of Eastwood's last movie, "American Sniper" — a stoic, quietly heroic man who does his job without burdening other people with his self-reflection. If Eastwood were 30 years younger, he might have taken the title role himself.

Instead, Eastwood enlists America's favorite everyman, Tom Hanks, who finds moments of quiet grace and introspection in this story of composure under the worst possible circumstances.

Those circumstances are widely known, but here's the short version: On Jan. 15, 2009, Sullenberger and his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart), had just started U.S. Airways flight 1549. As the Airbus 320 was taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport, the plane encountered a flock of birds, which were sucked into the two engines. Both engines failed, and Sullenberger quickly decided he couldn't get the plane back to LaGuardia or to Newark's Teterboro airport, so he and Skiles executed a "forced water landing" in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew members survived.

Todd Komarnicki's script, adapted from Sullenberger's memoir, re-enacts that flight — all 208 seconds of it — repeatedly, as Sullenberger must replay the events during the mandatory National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

In the grilling, and in his nightmares, Sully ponders whether he made the right choice by not trying to get back to LaGuardia or whether he endangered those passengers and crew unnecessarily. (The nightmare sequences include photo-realistic images of a jet hitting Manhattan buildings, so anyone sensitive to such images — especially coming up on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks — might want to steer clear of this movie.) He also must deal with the weirdness of instant media celebrity, just as his wife, Lorraine (Laura Linney, in a thankless role), calls to describe the press gaggle trampling on their front lawn.

Hanks gives a strong, understated performance that shows Sullenberger's devotion to his family, his crew, his passengers and his love of flying. He shows little emotion over things happening to him — either in the cockpit or in the investigatory or media whirlwinds — and only gets demonstrative when he awaits news that everyone made it out of the plane OK.

Eastwood and his crew meticulously capture the tiny details inside flight 1549 and the rapid work of New York first responders. But the Hollywood firepower the director deploys in "Sully," between Hanks and the top-drawer visual effects, still doesn't deliver the emotional punch that a good documentary on the same subject would have landed.

Twitter: @moviecricket —

HHH

'Sully'

Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks collaborate on a handsomely staged, emotionally reserved look at the "Miracle on the Hudson."

Where • Theaters everywhere.

When • Opens Friday, Sept. 9.

Rating • PG-13 for some peril and brief strong language.

Running time • 96 minutes.