Based upon the 1993 non-fiction publication Howard Hughes: The Secret Life by Charles Higham, the film illustrates the life of Howard Hughes, an aviation leader and supervisor of the movie Heck's Angels The film portrays his life from 1927 to 1947 during which time Hughes ended up being an effective movie manufacturer and an air travel tycoon while concurrently growing a lot more unpredictable due to serious obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Paradoxically, as far as this reviewer is concerned one of the most stirring, most memorable minute in Martin Scorsese and John Logan's The Aviator isn't the (admittedly excellent) airborne battle at the start of the movie, or the airplane crash later on, or any of the social goings-on.

Besides, Hughes is barely averse at risking his life in other means, becoming a record-smashing flying ace and later on obtaining TWA off the ground much to the dismay of rival Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), the head of Pan Am. The Aviator with Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn and Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes.

Appearing at 169 mins, Bookmarks The Aviator attempts to remain up, yet like Howard Hughes' much-too-big and much-too-heavy Spruce Goose (a.k.a. The Hercules), this cinematic big can keep itself in the air only a few minutes each time. Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes and Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn The Aviator images: Miramax Detector Bros