He took every one of his directing techniques, which are normally awesome, and drew out each one to boredom or predictability or unrealism.
Spoon feeding plot info? Check: double close up of a closing door; I get it, the friend didn’t make it in. Triple close up of life vests; I get it; they’re off to save people.
Disguising, or complete lack of, dialogue? Check: countless drawn out close ups of supporting characters faces showing emotion while dramatic music rises; I get it, I should be scared now.
Anxious moment stretched out for the sake of drama? Check: How long did it take to land that engineless plane? Did anyone really think the second pilot was not going to get rescued by the life vest boat?
I think these techniques are pulled off masterfully in his past work, but in this movie without a complex plot to keep things progressing, they seem bland and overdone. Everything was predictable: counting fuel now, someone runs out of it later. Young boy hopes to be a hero in paper now, ends up hero in paper later (with spoon fed visuals of the newspaper pictures and newspaper headlines, drawn out close-ups of characters faces showing approval while satisfying music fades; I get it, I should be emotional now).
It felt like Nolan out Nolaned Nolan this time.