OK, so I don’t like boxing movies, but what’s not to like about a flick about one of the great figures in aviation history?

Well, a few things, actually. I saw The Aviator last night on DVD. It was a watchable movie, but despite his best efforts, and he is a good actor, I just couldn’t buy DeCaprio as HH. He just seemed too young, and I doubt if Hughes’ voice had that high a pitch.

Kate Blanchett captured the voice and mannerisms of Kate Hepburn pretty well, but she didn’t really physically resemble her, so that was a little jarring as well. On the other hand, I didn’t immediately recognize her as Kate Blanchett, so that’s something.

The thing I liked least about it though was too little emphasis on his technological achievements, and too much on his mental debilities. It was hard to believe that he could go from urine-collecting naked nutcase to someone who embarrassed a Senate Chairman in a hearing just a few days later. But that’s probably just my bias–perhaps Scorcese emphasised (and overdramatized) what worked best for a mass audience.