A great film, good for a wide variety of audiences

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2005)

The Aviator tells the story of aviation pioneer and eventual nutbag Howard Hughes. Leonardo di Caprio plays the title character, the wonderful Cate Blanchett plays the wonderful Kate Hepburn, Alec Baldwin plays the CEO of a competing airline, and Alan Alda plays a sleazy U.S. Senator.
This is a very good film. I found it very entertaining, as did my 71 year old mother! This is the beauty of this film: it has plenty to appeal varying audiences. Are you riveted to E! Entertainment Television? You'll love Howard the Hollywood Playboy. Addicted to Discovery Channel? There are enough aerospace gewgaws here to satisfy any of you. Is the History Channel your thing? This is a beautifully-filmed period piece. Enjoy a weeper? The downfall of Howard into madness will set you off.
Above all, if you love well-made, well-written, well-acted films, you'll like The Aviator.
Don't be daunted by the fact it's a Martin Scorsese picture, it's not a violent picture. He has taken a turn from his standard fare and proved, at least to me, that he has great talent even outside his regular genre.
9 out of 10. It didn't quite have the full emotional impact on me that I like films to have, so I just shaved off a point for that.
Barky