Reviews

This is a wonderful film, by far Amazon's best. It's well made, with good dialog, likeable characters and incredible visual effects. I almost gave it ten stars. However audiences should be aware that although the film is based off of true events, a large portion of it is completely fictional. The story is based off of the record breaking flight of James Glaisher and Henry Coxwell in 1862. The two men did indeed reach a height of at least 28,000 feet (estimates say as high as 35,000) and many of the smaller details are true (such as the pilot losing the use of her/his hands and Glaisher passing out). However, Coxwell was replaced in the film by the fictional character of Amelia Wren, and both characters are considerably younger than their real life counterparts. It is unfortunate that Amazon felt the need to pander to modern sensibilities and change history. I have nothing against Wren in the film, she was a fantastic character, and she is based on several real persons. As an equalitarian myself, I am always on the lookout for strong female characters. But making up a character simply to fulfil this role takes away from the whole idea, and makes the purpose too obvious. It also ignores the efforts of Henry Coxwell, and pays no heed to his memory. To quote Keith Moore, Head of Library at the Royal Society, "It's a great shame that Henry Coxwell isn't portrayed because he performed very well and saved the life of a leading scientist." "There were so many deserving female scientists of that period who haven't had films made about them. Why not do that instead?" Now I will not hesitate to recommend this film to others. But I will tell them of it's inaccuracies, and suggest that they read about the real events, as they enjoy this loose telling. I certainly enjoyed it.

I saw this film about a year ago and loved it the minute I saw it! The plot is wonderful, the acting perfect, the costumes are beautiful as are the locations and sets, the whole thing is great! The story is well told and intriguing, keeping you interested through the whole film. And I loved some of the unexpected plot twists, especially near the end. WARNING BIG SPOILERS HERE The fact that D'Artagnan loved Queen Anne and that King Louis and Philippe were his sons, the was a great idea! I didn't like D'Artagnan dying at the end, that was really sad but Leonardo Dicaprio gave an amazing performance in that scene so it wasn't all bad. Also that they put Louis in the mask after, I thought that was a little cruel for good guys to do. I mean he was evil and everything but still, almost no one deserves a fate like that. But I guess he got a pardon later so... END OF SPOILERS Anyway as for the leading man, I think this was one of Leonardo Dicaprio's best films. He was perfect in playing both the spoiled brat Louis and the kind, oppressed Philippe. His performance was, I think, the best part of the film. The scenes where the twins are together was an example of some amazing filming. The two Leos fit perfectly, it was like it really was twins instead of the same actor! Jeremy Irons was really good as Aramis and I loved Gabriel Byrne's D'Artagnan too! All in all a great film. Bravo! Encore!

I'll tell you right now I don't like tear jerkers. I can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of tear jerkers I have watched and liked. However one of those fingers belongs to this film. The story itself was interesting and a good idea, but the reason I liked this film so much was John Travolta's amazing performance as George. He was riveting, emotional, and funny. An wonderful job on his part. Especially near the end of the film when the symptoms of his condition start to take effect. Also when he first gets his powers, he is so excited to be learning so many new things and so happy to get all this knowledge. It's a great performance and I think one of Mr. Travolta's best. The love George has for Lace is also acted out wonderfully. From the beginning of the picture, your sympathies are with George and they remain with him though the whole film. The scene between John and Brent Spiner is hilarious! As a Star Trek fan it was fun to see Data in another role even if it was so short. I'll wrap up by saying, even if you don't like tear jerkers, I think you should watch this film just to see the example of truly great acting shown in it. I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

I saw this film recently and I was pretty impressed. The plot was much better than the first film and it was nice that they kept it clean this time. Saturday Night Fever had so much cussing and other vulgar things it was hard to see. This one had almost no swear words and was much cleaner in other areas too. Much better. For an 80's film it's pretty darn good. The dancing was amazing and John Travolta did very well reprising his role as Tony. It wasn't his best role but it's certainly one of my favorites. The strut at the very end of the film was great! I loved the way they included the Staying Alive song with it. So fun! The dance/show near the end of the picture was kinda weird and I was a little confused about the romance (which girl do you want? Make up your mind!) but all in all it was a good film and worth watching.