Aviator Flys-Doesn't Soar

Rating: 1/10 (27 December 2004)

Leanardo DeCaprio was entirely the wrong person to play Howard Hughes DeCaprio is a pipsqueak while HH was 6'3 . Also HH had dark eyes not brilliant blue . Gwen Stefani should stick to warbling trash and stay away from acting entirely, her brief turn as Jean Harlow is grating like fingernails on a chalkboard . There is precious little of where HH got his money.He inherited a million on his 21st birthday .Nor is there ample explanation of how or what caused HH to disassociate from the world .His mother bathing him well past the age that it is necessary and her going on about germs and such hardly seems to be enough . It was said during HH's father's day "Sure you can still drill for oil without a Hughes bit, as long as you don't mind using a pick and shovel ". HH's father was the real genius of the family having invented the rotary drill bit for oil exploration . By the way HH's Inheritance in todays dollars is the equivalent of ten million .Plenty for a young man to reinvent the world in his image . Much is made of HH's flying exploits but not much time is given to the 'Spruce Goose' that only managed to reach 70,feet of altitude and only flew for a mile ,hardly impressive stats .Yet Hughes was convinced this aircraft was the salvation the armed forces were looking for . Not much is said about HH's contacts with the CIA and his involvement in many shady deals perpetrated by that agency . Jude Laws cameo as Errol Flynn is alright I suppose as they are both effete in nature . As HH has very little connection to todays generation(movie buying public) this film will flounder and die in a relatively short time . Michael Mann was right to walk away from this project as there just isn't anything new or revealing to say about HH . The script is no revelation nor is the direction . 2 of 5 stars for the 'Aviator' And bye the way all these people debating'Aviator's' opening grosses are missing the fact that only half of the actual gross accrues to the studio the other 50/60% is eaten up by the theaters . So on that scale'Aviator' is without a doubt a bomb . It will be extremely lucky to gross thirty million domestically and will probably do the same over seas . The only thing that can save it is an unprecedented run on DVD .