The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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The Aviator
Drama · 2004
A biopic depicting the life of filmmaker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate, while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Movie details
The Aviator
“Some men dream the future. He built it.”
2004 Drama 2h 50m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.5 / 10
401.4K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
86 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
77 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A biopic depicting the life of filmmaker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate, while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Aviator?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Martin Scorsese
Written by
John Logan
Leonardo DiCaprio
Howard Hughes
Cate Blanchett
Katharine Hepburn
Kate Beckinsale
Ava Gardner
John C. Reilly
Noah Dietrich
Alec Baldwin
Juan Trippe
Alan Alda
Senator Ralph Owen Brewster
Ian Holm
Professor Fitz
Court is in session
Put The Aviator on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.