If 2004 has a must see film, this is it.

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2004)

As an aviation buff (and historian) I went in to the theater today to see The Aviator with a mixed bag of reservations, mostly surrounding the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio as the legendary Howard Hughes. Was I every surprised and impressed at his portrayal of the famed aviator; he was in a word, mesmerizing.
I'm not sure what movie the people here who are complaining about Mr. DiCaprio or the movie's almost three hours running time, but he seemed to capture the essence of the Hughes character completely with his portrayal and while I could see where at least 10 minutes could have been cut, which would have resulted in an even better picture, not once did I think that The Aviator dragged in any way.
The transition in color, while something of a gimmick, worked for me. In watching the movie and now reviewing it in my mind as I write this, I compare it to two other epics, one obvious, one not; Tucker and Das Boat. The similarities between Tucker and The Aviator are obvious and I won't waste the space here as both tell the stories of misunderstood and eccentric industrialists with a sense of passion and compassion that is obvious. With Das Boat, one of my favorite movies, the comparison has more to do with the scope of the story and even a bit with the ballroom scenes. It's here where The Aviator falls a bit short in comparison. Maybe it's the substitution of CGI effects that leaves me a bit cold as it just seems less realistic than what Das Boat accomplished a generation ago with a proportionally smaller budget I'm sure.
I'm going to leave commentary on Mr. Scorcese's direction to others here far more qualified except to say that the movie was well-paced. Of his films I would have to say that this falls in behind Goodfellas and Raging Bull and ahead of Taxi Driver, but that's just one man's opinion.
Even with its flaws, this is a four stars out of four stars film, enjoyable and riveting at the same time, almost three hours of movie making magic. If 2004 has a must see film, this is it.