moonspinner55 Hilary Swank would seem to be the perfect choice to play female aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), however the two-time Oscar winner (while a terrific actress) can't do much with this stolid biography of the ace flying legend--it just isn't there in the material or the handling. Amelia Earhart's colorless love life (she cheated on husband George Putnam with pilot and single father Gene Vidal) sadly takes precedence over her love for flying...and when she finally does get into the pilot's seat, we are treated to flashbacks the minute Earhart is airborne. Earhart, the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic, was ultimately a tragic figure, her plane, also carrying navigator Fred Noonan, disappearing July 2, 1937 over the central Pacific Ocean while on the last leg of their around-the-world flight. The final moments of the film depicting Earhart's ordeal (low on fuel, she is unable to communicate with Coast Guard radio operators) is taut and fraught with emotion. However, the majority of the picture is enervated and spiritless, with disappointing casting of too-modern actors in period roles and an awful lot of footage of Swank staring out the plane window. Screenwriter Ronald Bass reportedly completed several drafts of the script before Anna Hamilton Phelan was brought in to do a rewrite (based on two books, "East to the Dawn" by Susan Butler and "The Sound of Wings" by Mary S. Lovell); unfortunately, most of the excitement of Earhart's story is held in check, off-screen, with newspaper headlines informing us of her progress. The handsome production has polish, but the expensive detail doesn't enliven the core of the material. Not even Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography can make the endeavor worthwhile. ** from ****

cougarblue You take one of histories richest characters and flatten out her personality, giving you the film "Amelia". So much potential in making a new movie about the life of Amelia, this film could have been terrific given the new information about her ill-fated flight and the evolution of computerized effects, but sadly Swank and Company offer us a meandering portrait of a fascinating person that cannot decide if it wishes to be a triangular love story or an historical account of the life of Amelia Earhart. Very disappointing was my first reaction while I waited for something other than the measured, even and unemotional acting by Swank, along with Gere's lame attempt to portray the swarmy, manipulative Mr Putnam. The only drama in this two hour film is contained in the last 5 minutes as Amelia tries to communicate with the Navy ship which was to assist the round-the-world flight with navigation, as her fuel supply is running out. Even that part could have been played with more intensity. The older films on this rich character do justice to her life and accomplishments, this movie does not. Oh, BTW, Swanks teeth look like a refrigerator showroom baring testament to the work of a fine orthodontist.

twilliams76 A very standard biopic.While there is nothing horribly wrong with any of this movie (it IS better than its 37% metascore implies), nothing really comes to life in Amelia either. I wanted the subject matter to soar but it doesn't ... it is a rather typical, ho-hum story about someone who did something great.For some reason so many of these stories forget to tell us why the person the film is about was great. The film decides that showing Amelia get into a plane and fly should do the trick and please the masses; but I think that sells her short! The cinematography is lovely and there was gorgeous, sweeping scenery; but that isn't enough for me. Is it wrong to want a glimpse into the life of this legend? The relationships in the film are all cut-and-paste and were only emphasized when the story needed them to further a tangent. The movie felt hollow and incomplete. Earhart is (again) a legend that deserved more. Swank, though -- in my opinion -- does a fine job with the role so the fault should not lay at her feet (it's not her best work; but it wasn't the best-written role of hers either).Perhaps the filmmakers had lofty intentions and they just didn't measure up in the editing room. While Amelia isn't a total waste of time, I would assume reading a biography on the Kansas-born aviatrix would be more fulfilling.

Desertman84 Amelia is a biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart,who made history in 1932 by becoming the first woman ever to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Hilary Swank stars as Earhart, together with Richard Gere, Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor. It was written by Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan, using research from sources such as East to the Dawn by Susan Butler and The Sound of Wings by Mary S. Lovell, and directed by by Mira Nair.On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator,Fred Noonan, are on the last leg of an around-the-world flight. Moving in vignettes from her early years when Earhart was captivated by the sight of an aircraft flying overhead on the Kansas prairie where she grew up, her life over the preceding decade gradually unfolds. As a young woman, she is recruited by publishing tycoon and eventual husband George Putnam to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean, albeit as a passenger. Taking command of the flight results in a success and she is thrust into the limelight as the most famous woman pilot of her time. Putnam helps Earhart write a book chronicling the flight, much like his earlier triumph with Charles Lindbergh's We, gradually falling in love with his charge, and they eventually marry, although she enacts a "cruel" pledge as her wedding contract.Embarrassed that her fame was not earned, Earhart commences to set myriad aviation records, and in 1932, recreates her earlier transatlantic flight, becoming the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic. The trip made the aviatrix a national celebrity.Her marriage was tested, however, as Earhart developed feelings for contemporary Gene Vidal, and the couple's marriage faced the ultimate tragedy years later, as Earhart's fierce independent spirit spurred her to attempt to fly around the world -- a venture that infamously shrouded her in mystery, as the pilot simply vanished after crashing into the Pacific Ocean. Amelia takes the compelling raw materials of its subject's life and does little with them, conventionally ticking off Earhart's accomplishments without exploring the soul of the woman.It also made the movie less interesting as it becomes predictable which made it less interesting.Too bad that the movie did not capitalize on exploring Earhart as a person especially when it had the talented Hillary Swank portraying the role. The narrative was also slow and it lacks energy and vitality which made it boring to the viewer and the characters less interesting and uninvolved. Too bad that this film was a missed opportunity for two reasons: becoming a great film and exploring the adversities that women had to face especially when taking on adventures and actions that were deemed exclusive for men during Earhart's lifetime.Added to that,there was completely lack of focus in the story-telling and direction of the film.