Amelia
Rated: PG for some sensuality, language, thematic elements and smoking.
My Grade: B-
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Went to see this movie tonight with my mom. Amelia Earhart is a woman with a story that's fascinated me for some time, a remarkable person with a remarkable story and who's death is one of the most enduring mysteries of all time.
Amelia is a movie that, more or less, chronicles the aviator's life as she strives to stay in the air with bigger and bigger chalenges. The story is mostly told in flash-back form as Amelia -on her around-the-world trip with navigator Fred Noonan- reflects on the journey from her first trans-atlantic flight (as nothing more than a passenger) her love-triangle with George Putnam and Gene Vidal. The story intercuts with some of Earhart's lay-overs in various world locations, eventualy laps itself and takes us into her final, frantic, moments trying to communicate with the ground to end the current leg of her journey a little more than 1000 miles from her goal.
Overall the movie is servicable. It's entertaining enough, the actors put in decent performances (Hillary Swank is dialed back from "Gorgeous movie star" to "somewhat passibly attractive Kansan pseudo-lesbian aviator.") But, overall, the movie has no real "spark." It's an over-budgeted TV movie and not a whole lot more. For a woman with such an inspiring life and mysterious end this movie could've been more if it dared to be, by following Amelia through her younger life, going through flight-training, etc.
As it stands the movie is just a meh. Probably worth seeing if you're into Amelia and aviation history but it's certainly a movie worth waiting for rental. It's a shame and a waste.
Rated: PG for some sensuality, language, thematic elements and smoking.
My Grade: B-
----------------------------------------------
Went to see this movie tonight with my mom. Amelia Earhart is a woman with a story that's fascinated me for some time, a remarkable person with a remarkable story and who's death is one of the most enduring mysteries of all time.
Amelia is a movie that, more or less, chronicles the aviator's life as she strives to stay in the air with bigger and bigger chalenges. The story is mostly told in flash-back form as Amelia -on her around-the-world trip with navigator Fred Noonan- reflects on the journey from her first trans-atlantic flight (as nothing more than a passenger) her love-triangle with George Putnam and Gene Vidal. The story intercuts with some of Earhart's lay-overs in various world locations, eventualy laps itself and takes us into her final, frantic, moments trying to communicate with the ground to end the current leg of her journey a little more than 1000 miles from her goal.
Overall the movie is servicable. It's entertaining enough, the actors put in decent performances (Hillary Swank is dialed back from "Gorgeous movie star" to "somewhat passibly attractive Kansan pseudo-lesbian aviator.") But, overall, the movie has no real "spark." It's an over-budgeted TV movie and not a whole lot more. For a woman with such an inspiring life and mysterious end this movie could've been more if it dared to be, by following Amelia through her younger life, going through flight-training, etc.
As it stands the movie is just a meh. Probably worth seeing if you're into Amelia and aviation history but it's certainly a movie worth waiting for rental. It's a shame and a waste.
