Fly high with this historical gem

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2005)

Some people say you can't be born a legend, you can only become one. Well, I think in the case of Martin Scorsese, it's a little bit of both. You see, when you're watching a Scorsese film, you're watching movie-making at its best. No detail is left behind in his films which is just one of the many reasons why Scorsese is one of my favorite directors in Hollywood. Over the years Scorsese has put out some masterpieces and although he has won numerous awards for his work, he has yet to hold the coveted Oscar statuette in his hand. A couple years ago when GANGS OF NEW YORK was being promoted, everyone thought it would be the one to give Scorsese his first Oscar, but as most of us saw, that didn't happen. Instead we saw the much acclaimed musical CHICAGO take home the gold. Two years later, we find Martin Scorsese to be in the same exact position, only it's with THE AVIATOR now. Will the same fate hit Scorsese again with Adrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, yet another musical? Or will the academy finally award him for not just his magnificent work on THE AVIATOR, but for everything he has brought to movies over the past 30 years?
This film is loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, one of the first true millionaires of America. Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), who was only a teenager when he inherited his family's tool business, had dreams that most of us couldn't even begin to think of. One of his dreams was to make a motion picture, which he did with HELL'S ANGELS, a film that not only introduced Hughes to Hollywood, but introduced him to such movie starlets as Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). Having always had a love of aviation, Hughes decided to build the world's fastest plane during the making of HELL's ANGELS, a project that proved to be successful one clear day in 1935. After being dubbed the "world's fastest man," Hughes decided to broaden his spectrum of wealth by purchasing the airline company TWA (TransWorld Airlines). He even began to build a special spy plane for the government, but all was not well in Hughes mind as time passed by. After being dumped by Hepburn, a new enemy arrived for Hughes, Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), president and CEO of America's leading airline PanAm. And Trippe, with politicians on his side, set out to destroy not only TWA, but Hughes himself leading the great aviator to fight mental demons he never thought he would have; demons that would eventually leave the pioneer at rock bottom. But, just when you think Hughes has no fight left in him, he picks himself back up and somehow manages to rise to the top again in a fashion that could only be expected from Howard Hughes.
Ever since GANGS OF NEW YORK, I had the feeling that we would see Scorsese and DiCaprio team up again, but who would have guessed it would be DiCaprio coming to Scorsese instead of the other way around? As it turns out, DiCaprio is a huge Howard Hughes fan, so when he gave the idea to Scorsese, how could the great director refuse? Well, I'm confident that Scorsese sees something in young Leo, which is probably why he agreed to direct the film. Scorsese allows his young actor to pretty much open up his talents, which couldn't have been a better decision. Going back to WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, I could see the endless potential DiCaprio, but I would never expected such a performance like the one he turned in for THE AVIATOR. He truly became Howard Hughes inside and out balancing the true nature of what made Hughes a legendary industrialist and pioneer. But, DiCaprio was not the only star in this film; he had some great talent around him led by Cate Blanchett, who just seems to get better with time. Blanchett, who played Katherine Hepburn, captured the true essence of why Hepburn was a marvel in Hollywood. And then there was Kate Beckinsale, who did a tremendous job in playing Ava Gardner, the new and upcoming star of the times. Beckinsale, who most people will remember from PEARL HARBOR, in my mind, is starting to come into her own as an actress. Only time will tell us how great she actually becomes. But, the one guy that many will forget from this film will be Alec Baldwin, who played the evil PanAm CEO Trippe. Even though Baldwin doesn't occupy much of the films 168 minute running time, his presence is known in every scene in which he appears, reaffirming his talent as being the best among his brothers.
Many critics will downplay this film because it drags and it's too long. And, although I do agree that the film felt longer than it was, that's one of the aspects that I come to appreciate with a Martin Scorsese film. I mean, going in I know it will feel like a 6-hour film, but I don't care. In fact, I look forward to it because there's no other director in Hollywood that can do the things that Scorsese does behind the camera, and no other director that can bring in the type of emotion that Marty can bring. He may spend more time on scenes, but every detail is played out which ultimately makes his films complete. And in THE AVIATOR, Scorsese has clearly done just that bringing in all the emotion and features that made Howard Hughes who he was.
I don't know what the future holds for THE AVIATOR, but if my predictions are right, it will be covered in gold. Not only did Martin Scorsese capture the true essence of Howard Hughes and what he meant to this country, he allowed Leonardo DiCaprio to run with the character which ultimately left no stone unturned.