Review of The Aviator (2004) by Sarah G — 23 Sep 2011
Oh no this film doesn't have taylor lautner in it.
It's three hours long.
It's depressing as hell.
It's about a crazy autistic man who makes movies and airplanes.
Like, who wants to watch about CWC making airplanes with empty cans of orange soda.
Also why isn't there any gruesome acts of violence.
Martin scorsese is only good at making violent films - remember how BOOOOOOOOORING king of comedy and after hours was.
Oh man this film is about the 30s so it must suck.
THE WAY OF THE FUTURE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE.
It must suck.
-------------------------------.
All straw men critiques gathered up in this here review.
I'm tired of people saying that this is Scorsese's worst film as a director. Well, media critic wise, it's one of his best - top-tier - but to those rabid fanboys who merely want to see that Taxi Driver sequel that's never gonna be made (Scorsese wants to shoot in NYC - partner Lars von Trier is too afraid to fly to go there - De Niro's too busy getting adrenaline to his package), this is bad. OK, they kind of dug "The Departed" and "Shutter Island," but that's because it's Scorsese going back to his "roots." Sure, the guy is known for making gritty dramas, but can't he make a good biopic once in a while?
Also, if you look closely, you'd realize that this is, in some aspects, about as dark as most of his films. It's a character study about a man who wants to leave a mark on the world, but something gets in the way and he slowly turns becomes a big mess that nobody can fix (not even himself). Same thing we've seen in Taxi Driver and Mean Streets, bro. Nothing drastic here.
Also, it's a well-made biopic either way. Funny, dark, disturbing - this film reminds me of the old epics they used to release in the '30s (of course, I'm not that old). It has its share of faults, but those are overcome by the sheer power of set pieces that you can't help but to awe at, some pretty good performances (especially from DiCaprio), and tight direction as usual. Overall, I'd recommend it as one of the essential Scorseses.
Just don't expect Travis Bickle to pop up and blow up his taxi mobile.
This review of The Aviator (2004) was written by Sarah G on 23 Sep 2011.
The Aviator has generally received very positive reviews.
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