--- title: "The Aviator: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-aviator/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-aviator" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Aviator (2004): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 20 reviews: 17 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics like The Aviator, and the praise gathers in the same places. DiCaprio’s Hughes is the performance nearly everyone singles out, for its shrewdness, petulance and the slow slide into obsession. Behind him, the reviews admire the scale: the recreation of old Hollywood, the flight sequences and the colour design, with Scorsese credited with a pace and energy several see as a return to form after a slack patch. The reservations gather too. A run of critics find the film keeps Hughes at a distance, sumptuous to look at but not much interested in what drove him, and several say plainly that it is not among Scorsese’s best. The spread is wide: RogerEbert.com gives full marks, The New York Times finds it hollow once the character begins to decline, and The Independent, the one negative voice, thinks DiCaprio miscast and the whole reverential and unengaging. Most reviews sit in the middle, impressed and a little unsatisfied. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 23 December 2004. The critic praises Scorsese's focus on Hughes's glory years and the director's ability to capture both the excitement and the encroaching madness. DiCaprio's performance and the recreation of period glamor are singled out as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-aviator-2004) ## The AV Club Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 December 2004. Calls it a sprawling, larger-than-life American epic with never-better DiCaprio and strong supporting turns, praising its complexity in balancing celebration and critique of individualism alongside vivid portrayal of mental illness. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-aviator-1798200235) ## The Times — James Christopher Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2004. One of the most fascinating and revealing pictures of Scorsese’s career, The Aviator is the story of Howard Hughes and a masterclass in how to chisel a hero out of a legendary 20th-century monster. The pressure that Scorsese inflicts on Hughes is spookily revealing about the director’s moral uncertainty, but you can’t but kiss and admire the craft of the film. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-aviator-78d7202rws6) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2004. Scorsese's entertaining film is celebrated as a rehabilitation and fantasia of Hughes as a studly capitalist prince who soared on golden wings. The aerial sequences and abundant humor with obvious sympathy are highlighted as strengths. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/12/20/high-rollers) ## Evening Standard — Sheila Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 11 April 2012. The review praises the film's spectacular scale, visual flair and barnstorming energy as a glittering return to form for Scorsese, with DiCaprio persuasive as the eccentric Hughes. It highlights dazzling set-pieces and technical brilliance while noting it falls short of the director's greatest works. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/a-magnificent-madman-7201661.html) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2012. The review calls it Scorsese’s best film since The Age of Innocence, praising DiCaprio’s nuanced portrayal of Hughes and the director’s shift into expressionist style in the later sections, while noting some ordinariness in the opening. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-aviator) ## Los Angeles Times Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2004. The review finds the film impressive in a movie-movie way and able to overcome weaknesses in Scorsese's recent work, with ferocious pace, humor, and DiCaprio convincingly conveying the character's shrewdness and petulance. It deserves acclaim despite some noticeable problems at its length. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-dec-17-et-aviator17-story.html) ## Sight and Sound — Ian Christie Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2005. The critic highlights Scorsese's ambitious recreation of Hughes' early career and Hollywood world, praising the scale, visual effects, and DiCaprio's committed performance while noting the film's focus on the subject's genius and obsessions. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/128) ## Empire — Simon Braund Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2004. The critic calls it a grand, impressive Tinseltown drama with lush production values, absorbing narrative and strong performances, but notes a niggling lack of depth in exploring what made Hughes tick and that it falls short of Scorsese's masterworks. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/aviator-review/) ## IndieWire Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 December 2004. Highlights Scorsese's direction of the Howard Hughes story as a soaring biopic centered on ambition, obsession, and early Hollywood glamour with DiCaprio in the lead. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/indiewire-review-scorseses-the-aviator-the-boy-who-could-fly-78494/) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 2004. Commends Scorsese's first-rate biopic for showing how Hughes' audaciousness and perfectionism led to both greatness and reclusive insanity, with focused bravado in DiCaprio's performance. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-aviator/) ## The Guardian — Philip French Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2004. Scorsese traces the tycoon's early career as a high flier and explains his germ phobia in an immensely enjoyable biopic. Despite shortcomings as serious biography, the film is an immensely enjoyable three hours with exemplary work from the cinematographer, production designer, costume designer and editor. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/dec/26/philipfrench) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2004. Praises Scorsese's gorgeous, beautifully acted biographical epic with strong DiCaprio performance and technical achievements, but notes an oddly distancing quality that keeps viewers from fully engaging emotionally. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/aviator-review-movie-2004-1247996/) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2004. The review finds it not the masterpiece hoped for but sumptuously mounted with magnetic DiCaprio and Scorsese's signature verve and style, delivering a thrilling ride despite not fully illuminating the subject's drives. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-aviator-review/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 3 December 2004. The critic praises the lively, richly detailed biopic and its visual panache for justifying the runtime and awards potential, but notes the emotionally distant central character may limit audience connection and box office. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-aviator/4021180.article) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2004. The film is described as visually sumptuous yet disappointingly hollow in its account of Hughes's early life. The critic notes strong elements like bold color design and witty links between Hughes's obsessions but finds the overall momentum falters as the character declines. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/movies/savoring-a-legend-before-it-curdled.html) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2004. The critic finds the biopic reverential but ultimately unengaging, with DiCaprio miscast as a lightweight Hughes and the film failing to probe the subject's psyche or earn sympathy. Scorsese's direction lacks the fire of his earlier character studies. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-aviator-12a-614521.html) ## Eye for Film — Josh Morrall Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2005. The critic declares the film blissfully perfect in every way, a beautiful picture with flawless performances, wonderful cinematography and extravagant mise-en-scene. Scorsese's direction, the lead performances by DiCaprio and Blanchett, and the stunning action sequences are singled out for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-aviator-film-review-by-josh-morrall) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B. 17 December 2013. The piece notes that Scorsese brings high-energy cinematic flair to the Hughes biopic, with strong support from Blanchett and others, and DiCaprio growing into the role. It complains that the take feels somewhat incomplete, checking biopic boxes without fully expanding on them. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/retrospective-essentials-films-of-martin-scorsese-20131217/9/) ## HeyUGuys — Jon Lyus Rating 3.5/5. 22 September 2011. The review praises the epic biopic of Howard Hughes for DiCaprio's compelling central performance and Scorsese's dizzying visual flights of fancy, especially the flight sequences and production design. Hughes' OCD and the opulent Hollywood recreation are highlighted as key elements. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-aviator-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-aviator.md