Great Opportunity Missed

Rating: 2/10 (10 February 2005)

Howard Hughes was one of America's icons of the 20th century, if for some of the wrong reasons as he went from multi-millionaire talk of the town to eccentric recluse at the end of his life.
The movie tries hard to delve into Hughes' personal life.
It begins with an opening that tries to explain his fear of germs and bacteria in his later life with an all too brief scene, to his association with some of Hollywood's leading luminaries and his battle with the established studios that almost led to his losing everything, his aviation triumphs and disasters and finally his standing up to a US Senate Committee investigation.
The flow of events is dramatically portrayed, but the flow does not seem as smooth as it could be as one gets the feeling that certain events that have already passed are brought back, thus messing up the chronology.
What the film also seems to miss is a conclusive ending as the viewer is left lurching at the end of the movie, wondering what happens next and neither is the usual text commentary flashed at the end to bring the audience up to speed. If this is the studio's attempt of teasing for a coming sequel, it fails miserably.
For some, DiCaprio's dramatisation of Hughes may also ring hollow as he sounds too juvenile in the voice department to come across as a powerful, all conquering, devil may care magnate. Having yourself as the Executive Producer obviously helps in the casting call!
See this movie by all means, but be prepared to emerge after a rather lengthy time wondering if it could have been done better.