Martin Scorsese's take on a 20 year period in Howard Hughes' life can only be called spectacular.

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2005)

Martin Scorsese's take on a 20 year period in Howard Hughes' life can only be called spectacular. This film has had me raving since the first time I saw it several weeks back. It is an epic that has everything that makes an epic film extraordinary with its story of a person who are bigger than life itself, combined with great visual effects, wonderfully colorful performances, and exposing the utter genius of Hughes, "The Aviator" proves not only be entertaining, but enlightening. Opening with the shot of Hughes as a boy being bathed by his mother and her spelling the word 'quarantine' to him, she instills a fear of disease on what was a fragile mind. We watch how Hughes subtly becomes obsessed with his business ventures into TWA airlines, his scandalous movies, and his building of the world's largest airplane, the Hercules. Furthermore, we see an intimate look at the man from escapades with teenage girls to Hollywood actresses Eva Gardener and Katharine Hepburn, played by Kate Beckinsale and Cate Blanchette, respectively. Blanchette's performance as Hepburn is so colorful and amusing that she proves to be the film's most intriguing performance. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hughes in an excellent performance. The only thing that works against DiCaprio is that he physically looks young, a look he's had trouble shedding considering he is in his early 30s. But it is easy to disregard considering his dialogue delivery and movements are superb. The film flows at a furious rate for a three hour picture and it manages to hold the audience's attention the whole period without succumbing to a single dull moment. Simply put, "The Aviator" is the best film of 2004!