Movie Review - Amelia (2009)

Starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor
Directed by Mira Nair

Every time I watch a biopic, I state this: the biopic is my least favorite genre of film. I don't give a darn about them at all because there's never any tension because you inevitably know the ending. I know Amelia Earhart's plane is going to crash.

Still, I wanted to like this movie more than it allows me to like it. It looks rather sumptuous...costumes, sets, and the like look good. But the direction is just silly and several of the flying shots look computer-generated. Plus the script which includes some of the worst voiceover lines I've ever heard was much too philosophical and "new agey" for its own good. Plus, how many times have we seen the tired old biopic set-up of the subject of the pic looking back on their life through a series of flashbacks (and flashbacks within flashbacks!)?

Swank is okay as Earhart, but she was rather stiff (then again, I guess Earhart was a tad on the manly side in terms of her demeanor). Gere was fine, but nothing special. And McGregor's role was simply a throwaway and really amounts to only a slightly lengthy cameo.

I wasn't expecting much and I certainly didn't get much from this.

The RyMickey Rating: D