Great Special effects saves this one from a Razzie.

Rating: 4/10 (24 March 2005)

If this movie would have stuck to the avionics and business/political intrigues of Howard Hughes, it would have been a smash. It's a fantastic movie cinematographically, and the special effects are unmatched. However, the director really fails in defining the Hughs character in a realistic way. Leo clearly doesn't have the depth or scope to portray this intriguing man. As an actor, it is a truism that you can't play a man more complicated and intelligent that you are. That holds true in this case and it might hold true for Scorsese as well- Martin didn't have the scope of vision broad enough to develop a convincing Howard Hughes.
Hughes was a man who grew up alone, fawned over by a couple of aunts. Then, almost overnight this lonely guy inherits a huge amount of money along with a cash cow business. Hughes leaves Houston never to return again. So now Hughes is in Hollywood and in his twenties, a good-looking, tall Texan with millions of dollars. He's making movies and bedding the most beautiful women of his time. Hey, I just don't see the joy and happiness there, and I've seen pictures of Hughes with babes during those times, and he was smiling. And not with the angst-ridden forced smile that Leo shows us. Hughes was happy, and he was enjoying himself. We never see that side of him in the movie.
On a similar note, the Hepburn-Hughes love affair was leaden and just didn't ring true. There was no on-screen chemistry. Blanchette had the accent down, but didn't remotely look like the WASPish Hepburn. Once again, the Scorsese ham-handed this aspect of Hughes' life and the movie suffers for it.
Martin's view that the OCP was the source for Hughes' inspired decisions in business and engineering was also off the mark. I have read that Hughes' problem was that he never could MAKE a decision- he would pester subordinates (who were brilliant) to come up with options and forced THEM to make the actual decision.
In fact, Hughes' downfall was precipitated by the crash of the test plane right after the war. Hughes lost his looks and a lot of his confidence. Plus, he suffered severe head injuries, and who knows how much that affected his persona and thought processes? With the Senate investigation and the actions of PAN AM, I have no doubt that Hughes' house was bugged, and spies were everywhere in his organization. Actress Jean Peters, his wife for a short time, even admitted that she worked for the CIA and reported on Hughes' activities to her superiors, so Hughes' paranoia was certainly justified. And the paranoia fed the OCP- a vicious cycle.
Edited down to two hours, eliminating the Hepburn angle, and drastically cutting down the "Hughes-as-a-nut case" scenes (overdone for that time of his life, and, besides, we GET IT, already) this movie would be light years better.