Romance edges ahead of adventure or characterisations and as a result, despite a soaring lead performance by Hilary Swank, the film suffers from a fatal dose of melodrama
Comment
11/05/09
Amelia (2009)
21
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:140
Fresh:29
Rotten:111
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: 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.
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $14,195,118
Synopsis: Visionary. Lover. Dreamer. Fighter. Legend. Icon. AMELIA. An extraordinary life of adventure, celebrity and continuing mystery comes to light in AMELIA, a vast, thrilling account of legendary... [More]
Starring: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston
Director: Mira Nair
Reviews for Amelia
Top CriticSwanks’ clear shot at a third statuette is blocked by hulkingly dull writing and direction that could point the way towards a definitive cure for insomnia.
11/11/09
Top CriticHilary Swank captures her beautifully.
11/11/09
Top CriticOscar-winning actress Hilary Swank gives Earhart a convincing Kansas twang but little else in a performance that is unaccountably stiff.
11/12/09
Top CriticTowards the end, as the story returns to that round-the-world flight, the suspense kicks in, and Swank’s performance comes into its own.
11/11/09
Top CriticAmelia reminds us how little we really know about the lives of famous achievers who changed the world, and underlines the power of biography on screen. It's a creatively and technically accomplished film with thrills and emotional action in equal measure
11/05/09
Top CriticThe period detail is brilliantly brought to life, but the film is superficial, lacking the passion of its heroine.
11/11/09
Top Critic[Swank is] so constrained by mannerisms that she never gets beyond the character’s surface -- although to be fair, trying to import feeling into the movie’s stilted dialogue is like trying to fly a plane blindfolded.
10/22/09
A dull, torturous bore. Could Earhart's life really have been this uninteresting?
10/25/09
Woodenly acted and grinningly bland, this Amelia Earhart life story turns Hilary Swank and Richard Gere, playing the aviatrix’s publisher husband, into virtual Thunderbirds puppets.
11/13/09
Burns a lot of fuel over the idea that Earhart was not just a hero of the air but an original feminist -- an iconoclast in jodhpurs and a necktie whose addiction to the 'freedom' of flight was representative of womankind's yearning for independence...
10/23/09
Top-flight portrayal of the aviator by Hilary Swank is an instant bio classic.
10/18/09
A by-the-book bio-pic.
10/22/09
If there's one thing Amelia wants us to know, it's that Amelia Earhart was her own woman. If there's another thing...I don't have a clue what it could be.
10/22/09
The movie is like a plane you see off in the distance: You recognize it's a plane but its details are indistinct.
10/31/09
Amelia isn't a terrible movie, but its greatest value will be as a history lesson rather than as entertainment.
10/23/09
A tinny and barnacled affair, showcasing a peculiarly awful performance from Hilary Swank.
11/13/09
Top CriticIn its effort to be one of the first Oscar-bait titles out of the gate, the stately but sterile Amelia ends up stumbling over its own feet.
11/02/09
A biodrama about an extraordinary woman aviatrix who followed her passion and blazed a trail for others to do the same.
10/23/09
Eventually I just wanted her to crash the damn plane so I could go home already.
10/27/09
Latest News for Amelia
October 22, 2009:
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October 22, 2009:
Hollywood's Turbulent Relationship with Flight 
When Hilary Swank takes to the sky in "Amelia" this weekend, she'll be adding to Hollywood's long -- and, yes, rather bumpy -- fascination with flight. More...
October 08, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster Here.
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June 28, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
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