Good movie

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2005)

This is a good movie. It's not great movie but it is handsomely filmed and well acted. The problem with the movie is that it probably "bites off more than it can chew". The life of Howard Hughes is large in scope and I think a better movie would have chopped down that scope a little bit more. This makes the movie too long in my opinion.
The acting is very good. I was concerned about how boyish Di Caprio looks when I heard he was cast in this part. You forget about that because of his acting. He is quite outstanding and deserving of his acting nods. When I first saw Blanchett introduced as Hepburn on the golf course in the movie, I was initially concerned that she was overacting. But she settles in quite nicely in this part. She is a known brilliant actress and she comes through with selling herself as Hepburn. The Ava Gardner part is probably the most poorly written character (as she just suddenly pops up in the movie without any real introduction or foundation) but I liked Kate Beckinsale's performance. Other supporting characters like Alan Alda, Ian Holm, Jude Law, Kelli Garner, Alec Baldwin, and Willem Dafoe were all good. John C. Reilly and Adam Scott were also good. It's amazing how much top talent is in this movie.
The footage of the crash and the flying footage is excellent. The set pieces, the recreation of the Coconut Grove, and planes, the costumes, and score are everything you would expect for a movie that will likely be nominated for an Oscar.