For me a biopic works if I walk away feeling like I know more about subject. If I've connected with that person and caught a glimpse of what made them great and had a good time watching it, then for the most part, the biopic works.

The Aviator focuses on approximately twenty years in the life of Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio). Scorsese and writer John Logan chose to focus on the most compelling two decades of the businessman/Hughes more eccentric behaviors later on), the movie begins in 1928 with the four years that Hughes spent directing and producing Hell's Angels (first released as a silent film and then reshot as a 'talkie'). We see his relationships with legendary actresses Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsdale). We see the brilliance and the passion he brings to designing and flying airplanes. Scorsese also chronicles the legendary battle for the international skies that took place between Hughes and his TWA airline and Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin) owner of Pan Am Airlines.

Besides performances that are consistent across the board, The Aviator succeeds in getting us closer to the reclusive but brilliant aviation pioneer. For most of us, Howard Hughes was the crazy, hermetic, germophobic billionaire. However, Hughes was much more than just a loony old man. In his prime, he was a perfectionist and visionary whose innovative designs and daredevil antics pushed aviation to its limits creating planes that flew faster and higher than before.

While excellent at portraying the passion Hughes had for aviation, The Aviator doesn't succeed in painting Hughes as an astute businessman (which many agree that he was). Instead, the movie gives the appearance that Hughes spent lavishly and indulged his whims while paying absolutely no attention to the business and financial decisions that he had to inevitably make to run a successful empire (in the movie John C Reilly plays Noah Dietrich who, according to the movie anyway, made all of Hughes's business decisions).

Leonardo DiCaprio could very well be one of the obstacles that Jamie Foxx will have to overcome on the road to Oscar. Leo gave a complex performance for a complicated man -- intense and adventuresome yet mentally vulnerable. Other standout performances belong to Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe, Hughes's main adversary and owner of Pan Am Airlines and Alan Alda as Trippe's bought and paid for Senator who orchestrated the Senate hearings accusing Hughes of being a war profiteer. Cate Blancett gives a dead-on impersonation of Katherine Hepburn capturing the actresses mannerisms and unique vocal inflections.

Scorcese set out to recreate the elegance of the 30's and 40's and The Aviator is a glamorous lush looking movie from the set design to the costumes.

As with many epics, it does run long but if you enjoy historical biographies and are a fan of 30's and 40's glamour then The Aviator might just fly with you.