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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Blistering performances.

This could have been a spirited, lofty film about the famous Amelia Earhart, who set many flying records in the first half of the last century. Unfortunately, what we get is a dry, rather matter-of-fact account of her adventures, textbook style. But that's not the only problem.The plot can't proceed five minutes, at most, without the appearance of George Putnam (Richard Gere), Earhart's love interest. Do the writers really think we are interested in Putnam? And the casting of Gere, an over-the-hill actor twenty years ago, distracts immensely from Amelia and her adventures.The plot plays out chronologically from the mid-1920s until Earhart's disappearance in 1937. During this phase of her life we see her earlier, shorter flights across the Atlantic to Great Britain, to Africa, and to Pakistan. About three-fourths of the way into the film, Earhart and her co-pilot, Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston), begin their fateful final flight around the globe.To the script's credit I learned a couple of things that I did not previously know. Earhart promoted products to finance her flying. And Fred Noonan had a drinking problem.The film contains beautiful outdoor photography. And I like the way some scenes transition from B&W to color, a subtle reminder of how long ago the Earhart story was. Except for the annoyingly intrusive Richard Gere, casting and acting are fine. Hilary Swank gives a really fine performance in the title role.I wish the script had been re-written to drastically downplay George Putnam. Either that or recast to an unknown actor, someone who would not overshadow Hilary Swank. Gere's presence almost, but not quite, ruins the entire film. Maybe someday we'll get a film about Amelia Earhart that is as inspiring as she was.

Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) is a Kansas girl who pines for the freedom of flying. The movie starts with Amelia trying to fly around the world with Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston) in 1937. The movie flashes back to her meeting with publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere) about being a passenger on a trans-Atlantic flight billed as the first woman to fly the trip. Putnam and Earhart would eventually marry, but she would stray with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). Meanwhile, there are younger pilots like Elinor Smith (Mia Wasikowska) on the way.The smaller problem is those accents of Earhart and Putnam. Even if they are correct, they are very distracting. It sounds stilted, and sucks out all of the life in the movie.The bigger problem is that her story is done in a perfunctory boring way. It must have been a fascinating story about how she learned to fly, but none of that is in the movie. It opens up from Putnam onwards ignoring anything before then. When she first travels trans-Atlantic, there are a few nice jabs about the sexism of the times. It's a big part of the theme of the movie. I think director Mira Nair is just too subtle with the obstacles she faced. She may be the wrong director for this movie.There's no doubt that these are great actors doing their best. They spent the money to recreate the planes and the era. It has a professional look. Everybody is very capable, but the result is a wholly boring movie.

I have been a huge Amelia Earhart fan my whole life and I've waited to see this movie until I read a few books about her. After learning so much about the real woman I honestly could not stand to watch this film. My biggest pet peeve was the idea that G.P. GAVE her the Electra for her around the world flight, are you kidding me? She was approached by Purdue University to help lecture women about the importance of careers and it was AMELIA who worked out a deal with the university to fund the around the world flight. They basically just robbed her of an accomplishment to make George Putnam look good. Amelia always put work first and she was an advocate for advancing women's freedom and choices. She was also a social worker before becoming famous and it was one of the most important things t her. As for this huge love affair with George Putnam, they loved each other sure, but they also married because it was logical and she had no problems saying she wanted to put work first. I was appalled that the film could gloss over ALL of her accomplishments in favor of creating some fictitious soap opera romance. George was married when he met Amelia, no mention of that. There were so many historical inaccuracies that I could have overlooked if they had served a purpose. As for Hillary Swank she was the worst part of the film. She attempted a sweet, charming, quirky attitude and instead she came across sounding like an idiot. I really thought she was slow in some scenes. She was not nearly feminine enough to play Amelia and she lacked the paradoxical humble, yet confident quality that Amelia possessed. I kept noticing also that in some scenes she had the gap in her teeth and in others she did not. This movie was a huge disappointment.

Last month I downloaded a copy of MS Flight Simulator and have been enjoying studying and flying vintage planes and recreating famous flights through the interface. I came cross Amelia's red Vega 2B and started a cross-Atlantic flight with it. Then later I ran across this movie...I cannot speak as an accomplished aviator or flight historian yet, but I did found the film to be refreshing and appropriate to its subject matter. Swank portrays A.E. well, and she does express the wonder of flying constantly through the film with a believable approach (and accent as well). Gere does similarly the same for Putnam and MacGregor acts as a good foil for him in Vidal. If you expect these actors to act like movie stars or action heroes, yes you will be disappointed (see some other reviews here).Several scenes of in-air cinematography are quite breathtaking and I was very pleased to see several of the planes from the program matching those on screen. There is also the angles of the first women in flight (and in new societal roles) that are also handled well and without pushing it "down out throats".If you are an aviation expert or pilot you may know much that is in this picture. But if you are like me, just getting into flying, I feel this movie is an excellent complement to your studies.