Sully is an obvious pick for a Best Picture nomination at next year's Oscars, with Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks' steady hands helping guide the film into the box office. The first trailer seemed to sell the film on its awards-friendly qualities alone, and while the film looked fantastic, it mostly felt like a clip reel aimed at awards voters. Of course, the reason we're saying this, is because we've seen a new trailer for the film and it's so impressive it's left us looking forward to the film now more than ever.
Warner Bros released this IMAX-themed trailer, showcasing footage from the film that was filmed almost entirely with the large format distributor's proprietary camera system. With the bare bones approach of telling the story of the forced water landing itself, as well as the ensuing NTSB investigation, this look at Sully focuses mostly on the incident that the film revolves around. While this may seem like giving away the major set-piece of the film, it instead leads to a more artistic approach to a film that will obviously hit the usual biopic notes.
Rather than replicate the first trailer's approach of running all over the film's plot structure, showing the most dramatic moments of Sully's total experience, this trailer has decided to focus on the efforts to land US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. Using that heroic feat as the focal point, with brief views into the proceedings and moments of self-doubt that Tom Hanks' portrayal of Captain Sullenberger would experience in the coming months afterwards, Sully does a greater service to its story, and its subject, by ramping up tension with the events that happened - rather than merely playing the usual moments we expect from such a film.
By the time the plane hits the water, just before cutting to the film's title, this trailer has built to a fever pitch, only to end on a hell of a button. This isn't to say that the first trailer to Sully is not suitable for the film's marketing needs. In fact, that first look at Clint Eastwood's latest directorial effort, coming on the heels of his previous awards contender American Sniper, is still a good portrait of the film. But as you'll see in that trailer, included below, it does seem more like a typical trailer, rather than an experience that leaves the viewer breathless.
With Sully's September 9th release date nearing, and both its awards and audience expectations set, all that's left now is to actually see the film itself. If Clint Eastwood's reputation has taught us anything, it's his most intimate works are what he excels at. With that in mind, we eagerly await Sully, especially after this extremely effective trailer.
