This leaves a lot to be desired; Hepburn notwithstanding

Rating: 4/10 (30 May 2005)

I presume this movie was released more or less in conjunction with the centennial of the birth of Howard Hughes; he was born on Christmas Eve 1905. This film covers, or at least tries to cover, the "public" period of Howard Hughes life, which is shown here as being from 1927 to 1947. That is not too far off. He did not go into seclusion the day he flew the "Spruce Goose" though he was well on his way by that time. Hughes was seen frequently for a few more years after wards, then by 1954 or so it became very difficult to find him. He flew a Lockhead Electra on a few occasions in 1958 in Los Angeles; making touch and go landings at the airfield on some Sunday mornings. It seemed that most people working at the airport then knew who was flying that plane, but that didn't generated enough interest to call up the press. By the early 1960s he would venture out rarely, but it was not until 1966-when he started buying up Las Vegas- that his state of seclusion became newsworthy. This movie does not attempt to show those years as the director evidently felt the viewers would already be quite familiar with that phase of Hughes' life.
The main problem is that what is shown has already been shown in other films; even more accurately. About a year after Hughes died the made for TV movie "Howard the Amazing Mr. Hughes" depicted the 1927-1947 phase of Hughes life even more realistically than this movie does EXCEPT for one area, and that area is the strength of this movie and probably the reason, other than the centennial issue, why it was made. As I mentioned before other films have already shown this part of Hughes' life in realistic detail as this part of his life was very well documented. In one area though it was NOT well documented and that was about the intimate relations between Hughes and Katherine Hepburn. It was not until her death very recently that letters and notes and other writings between them were discovered in her personal effects. This represented the last known treasure trove of Hughes writings (until his infamous missing will is found) to be discovered. That gives a look at Hughes that had not been seen before. It also shows a lot of Hepburn that is not seen very often as it is part of her life that predates Spencer Tracey. That is, I believe, one of the main reasons why this film was made; not only as a tribute to Hughes but also to Hepburn- who was adored by the movie industry in her later years. The movie also implies that the breakup between the two started Howard Hughes over the edge, but I doubt that was the case in real life. Still, the scenes with the young Hepburn and Hughes are a refreshing part of the movie and I have no doubt that Cate Blanchett shows the young Hepburn as she really was in private with Hughes.
Speaking of romance- One of the problems with this film is the omission of even mentioning Hughes' first marriage- to the daughter of the founder of Rice University. They were married for five years and did not divorce until the filming of Hell's Angels (shown in this movie) was well underway. Why Katherine Hepburn's first marriage is mentioned in the movie and Hughes' is not is probably something of an oversight as it causes him to appear as a playboy who simply cannot commit whereas in reality he was married three times.