The Aviator

Martin Scorsese directs this Best Picture nominee about Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), who turned a small fortune into a massive one by producing such classics as Hell's Angels, The Front Page, Flying Leathernecks and Scarface. He simultaneously branched into and transformed industry after industry, including aviation. Winner of five Oscars, including Best Cinematography, Art Direction and Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett).

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» Reviewed by 11 people

Scorsese's best work is long gone; his smart, stylized, and unique films earlier in his career are almost unknown in my generation. The Aviator may not be worthy of Scorsese, but it certainly is entertaining, and a rather insightful look into an exciting but ultimatley disturbed individual. For anyone with an interest in mental illness, or at least for an accurate depiction of it, The Aviator contains the best portrayal of an individual with OCD. Leonardo Dicaprio gives, in my opinion, his best performance of his young, but distinguished, career.
- C. Eng

A biographical chronicle which charts the early years of famous tycoon, Howard Hughes (1905-1976), whose eclectic career spanned across everything from oil, for which he cared little, to film, casinos, and aviation--as he turned millions of dollars into billions. Hype hype hype hype. That's all I've heard in regards to this movie over the past few weeks. I was expecting a masterpiece...... yet it wasn't delivered. The movie is about 3 hours long. Whoever edited that movie could have easily pruned an extra, unnecessary 30 minutes and greatly improved the movie. While The Aviator is a great movie, it certainly isn't the best movie of the year. That being said, DiCaprio gave the performance of his career in this movie. I was stunned as every aspect of Hughes' was recreated perfectly by DiCaprio. Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn and Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner do a good job in their roles, yet are far outshown by DiCaprio. Look also for brief appearances by Willem Dafoe and also by Jude Law (who seems to have to be in every movie). This movie is geared toward adults. There is plenty of sexual innuendo in this movie, though nothing is explicitly shown. DiCaprio does show backside nudity, however. Language here and there but really rather mild for a PG-13 movie. My biggest disappointment with The Aviator was the fact that it didn't live up to the hype. While a great movie it certainly isn't the masterpiece some have made it out to be. DiCaprio's performance was excellent, everything else about this movie, is average.
- stm 990403

Some people claim The Aviator was the best film of 2004, and I have to say that I strongly disagree. From where I was sitting, The Aviator was too long, too thin, and too boring. It suffered from an interesting problem. It was too short to really flesh out each character and every plot line. At the same time, it was already to long for my tastes. The Aviator started out fast and exciting. It quickly dwindled and never really picked back up. There were long sections of the film where nothing seemed to happen. There were several characters who seemed interesting enough, but I never learned enough about them to really care. For the most part, the events of the movie were boring and barely held my attention. In short, the film's major weakness was it's pacing. The acting was wonderful, as one might expect from such a cast. What I was left wondering is this: was Katherine Hepburn really that annoying!?! Wow. I couldn't have dealt with that... The film did have a few stand out scenes, though. I particularly enjoyed the crash scene. Watching Hughes' plane wipe out nearly an entire apartment building was pretty fantastic. The DVD sounded good, but was nothing extraordinary. The surrounds were used fairly minimally and the dialogue was crisp and clear. The video didn't fair quite as well. The film's color palette introduced a lot of reds to the transfer, and red is a notoriously hard color for the DVD format. That was evident here, as red lipstick and red dresses seemed to bloom and bleed. Red issues aside, the detail levels were high and the colors were well saturated. I can't say I really recommend The Aviator. As much as I like Martin Scorsese, his last two films have been somewhat disappointing to me. The Aviator dragged through most of the film and was too long for it's own good.
- eclapham

What Scorsese attempted in New York, New York he achieves in The Aviator. That is he sets an intimate character study, a volatile drama, in the middle of the artifice of film. It's not quite as exciting because it has the safety net of a tightly written script and story. There's no uncertainty or real ambiguity in this film, it's more in the traditional structure of a Hollywood film, but it's performed as only a master artist could do it. This isn't a story that lends itself to a cinematic medium. The film follows the early years of Hughes from movie mogul/ aviator extraordinaire to his eventual reclusive state. How do you cinematically portray someone's internal destruction without having scientists explain it away? Scorsese perfectly uses editing to visualize his unraveling. We are allowed to see Hughes's paranoid point of view whether it's a dust cloud or a fingerprint and the pacing between these POV shots and his reactions to them create enough tension to let us in on his mental state. A bathroom doorknob creates Hitchcockian suspense when shown in this manner. And Dicaprio sells it. He doesn't impersonate Hughes so much as he embodies his mental state. Truth is in his eyes, whether it's intense scrutiny over aeronautical engineering or germ accumulation you believe it. All the acting is superb from Blanchett to Alda. And visually this is Scorsese's most experimental film as it marks each decade with a grade of Technicolor in tune to Hollywood film at that time. It's an interesting idea, pretty to look at, but slightly superfluous. There's also quite a few special effects shots in the movie, some performed realistically as the Beverly Hills plane crash and others like the air fight in Hell's Angels appear almost cartoonish. I still enjoyed the movie immensely, it captures the spirit and excitement of the vast frontier of both Hollywood and the sky at this time but I would have loved to see Scorsese make this movie with a quarter of the budget.
- Paul Logan

I saw this film in the theater when it first came out and liked it. I'm a Leo DiCaprio fan and a Howard Hughes fan, so I looked forward to its release. I just watched it again (9-2-07). The movie does a pretty good job of depicting Howard Hughes' unusual life. Leo is credible in the role, although I found it a bit hard to believe he WAS Howard Hughes in the early years when Hughes was a younger man. His relationship with Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) was interesting as I had no knowledge of it. Cate almost became Katherine Hepburn; she nailed Hepburn's speech, mannerisms and dress. And, of course, Hughes' relationship with Ava Gardner was legendary, as was the story of how he designed a special bra for Jane Russell to wear in one of his western movies. Leonardo seemed to particularly capture Hughes in his later years. The scenes where Hughes was losing it were very well done, as were the scenes during the Senate committee hearings. Howard Hughes was a fascinating individual, eccentric but likeable and rich but humble. I get the feeling he may have been a genious, albeit one who was right on the edge of sanity for much of his life.
- Southern Belle 1

Leonardo DiCaprio was totally amazing. I was awestuck at his performance. Cate Blanchett was incredible too. But I was most impressed with the sensitive way in which Martin Scorsese captured a brilliant man. So many people only really know about the crazy rich guy. "The Aviator" reminds us that Howard Hughes was also a man of vision, innovation of genius who succeeded despite his demons. I saw a couple of flashes of "Look at me, I'm Martin Scorsese" in the middle of the picture, but they were brief and forgivable flashes in light of the overall film. Highly recommended, and I hope it wins a fistful of Oscars.
- LB in Idaho

Another critical favorite, this movie doesn't seem to resonate with the average audience. Complaints I've heard is that it's too long, it bogs down in the middle, it's not that entertaining, etc. I disagree on almost every note except those complaints regarding the mostly unnecessary lag time in the second act. Otherwise, I thought this was an exceptionally well-acted character study long on details and fascinating for it's realism. Plus the guy pees in bottles and I thought that was funny.
- Creeper

One of the best films I have ever seen. I respect Howard Hughes, and this movie really makes the audience feel in Hughes place. Not only is the acting stellar, the plot- excellent, but it is a VERY realistic account of Howard Hughes. As we watch the film we learn that Hughes, although he was obsessive compulsive beyond normal, was an excellent businessman who put nothing beyond his DESIRE. I felt a tremendous spark and a love for business after watching this film. He really is one of the WORLD'S GREATEST BUSINESSMEN! And that is clearly shown in this marvelous film. There were no holes in the plot and little in anything else. When I first watched this movie, I had little idea who Hughes was. When I left the movie, I loved Hughes and as a viewer, you really begin to respect his history. So, I had to watch it again. Excellent story of the account of a mentally ill, sucessful billionaire businessman. A must rent for all!!!!!
- SchatzReviews

Good film. Uneven direction. Very long at certain parts. Kate Beckinsale was really pretty in this film but her accent was just dreadful. LIke, seriously horrible. Gwen Stefani..waste of space...she was too old for the part. Cate Blancett was a revelation in this film...she was just perfect. Decent film and I would recommend this film to others.
- grayeyes043

Incredible filmaking!! Scorsese's biopic of Hughes is riveting and worth the investment of almost 3 hours of viewing time. DiCaprio has evolved from a child star to teen hearthrob to a star on the cusp of A list aspirations. With "The Aviator", DiCaprio has achieved a maturity in his art and in his acting, that makes me wait impatiently for his next project. His protrayal of Hughes is riveting. The Aviator is simply epic movie making at all levels. I was particularly taken by the wonderful soundtrack featuring many jazz and big band standards of the day and age. Scorsese uses CGI with dash and subtlety, never letting the tech overwhelm the drama. And Cate Blanchett. If you see this movie for no other reason, see it for Blanchett's Oscar winning protrayal of Kate Hepburn--you will be amazed. Simply put, this is a beautiful movie and it will overwhelm you with its artistry and its human story. Worth several views!!
- TH Reviews

I am a Martin Scorcese fan, for which I will not apologize, and I celebrate his entire catalogue. However, THE AVIATOR wasn't his greatest work. There is a lot to praise in this. A lot. All of the actors turn in fine performances and the Academy Awards it won were deserved. Possibly it deserved a few more. The story dragged in places and could have been trimmed by a quarter without damaging the overall work. Ultimately, it was a plot without resolutions. I guess life is like that.
- Firewater