Not a flawless epic, and not Martin Scorsese's best movie, but a very good one.

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2005)

Howard Hughes was the notorious playboy of the 1930s and '40s who wooed every Hollywood starlet in sight and was responsible for delivering aircraft to the United States government at the cost of $56 million. He ran well over-budget and never delivered any planes, although his monstrosity "The Hercules" -- at the time, the largest aircraft in the world -- was eventually built and did, in fact, fly.
"The Aviator" chronicles Hughes' life -- from his childhood to the point at which he first became obsessive about germs, his hands and so on and so forth. Hughes became increasingly eccentric and insane as time went on and by the end of the film I think Scorsese does something rather brilliant in terms of narrative effect -- I won't give it away but suffice to say it's a nice little conclusion to the movie.
The movie itself is quite good but tries a bit too hard. The acting is top-notch and DiCaprio holds his own as Howard Hughes, proving once again he's more than just a pretty face. Cate Blanchett perfectly imitates Kate Hepburn and Kate Beckinsale is a great Ava Gardner.
However I feel some material could have been cut. Some scenes really held my interest and I momentarily was lost in the film -- then there were sequences throughout which I felt bored and wished it would move on.
Also, I found the subtitles (posted on the screen to introduce new characters, e.g. JOHN SMITH - FRIEND OF HOWARD HUGHES) a rather dubious element -- I expected better from Scorsese... introducing new characters with subtitles seems sloppy and far too easy for such a master filmmaker.
I also felt "The Aviator" lacked Scorsese's overall typically energetic visuals, opting more for a bloated epic style -- one gets the feeling Scorsese was in it for the Oscar this year and was out to prove to the Academy that he could make a typical epic. There are a few tracking shots but other than that, it really didn't feel like "A Martin Scorsese Picture." On the plus side I found the cinematography quite nice, the musical score entirely fitting, the cameos amusing (Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe and Jude Law amongst others), and most of the dialogue believable.
"The Aviator" is not Martin Scorsese's best film, nor would I call it the best film of 2004. It is not flawless, but it does manage to entertain for the most part and is a solid insight into the life of Hughes. If I had one complaint, I'd say about thirty minutes altogether could have been edited out and replaced with more interesting material (or none at all), but as it stands, "The Aviator" is a very good movie.