The Aviator (12)

Four star

THIS is the riveting story of Howard Hughes and how he turned a small fortune into one of staggering proportions.

Hughes, bought to life by Leonardo DiCaprio, was the son of a Texan inventor who died when Hughes was 18, leaving him a 75 per cent share in a lucrative tool business.

Hughes moves to Los Angeles to produce films, discovering starlets such as Jean Harlow.

Just like the actor who portrays him in this film, success seemed to follow Hughes wherever he went.

After his remarkable achievements in Hollywood, Howard moved into the world of aviation and then defence during the Second World War - once again proving he had the Midas touch.

Mixed with the fascinating history of Hughes' business prowess are the moving stories of the women in his life, including Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale).

The Aviator has everything, with a wonderful mixture of adventure, excitement, romance, sadness and humour.

This latest biopic, directed by Martin Scorsese, is rather lengthy but the two hours and 40 minutes actually flew by, leaving me wanting to spend more time in the company of Hughes and the Hollywood lovelies whose careers he boosted.

HC