By Summer Rogers
Daily Titan Staff Writer

The new bio-pic Amelia about female aviator and historic icon Amelia Earhart, flies under the radar and falls short of anything spectacular.

The film tells the iconic story of Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank, P.S. I Love You), known during the 1920s and early-to-mid 1930s, as “Lady Lindy” and “America’s Sweetheart of the Skies.”

Earhart was a very independent, free-spirited and amicable woman. She was competitive with the boys and celebrated women in aviation. She single-handedly got women more prominently involved in aviation.

The film also illustrates a facet of Earhart’s life that isn’t often discussed – her husband and love life. Earhart falls in love with her publicist, George P. Putnam (Richard Gere, Nights in Rodanthe) and also has an affair with a fellow pilot, Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor, Angels & Demons).

The film ends with Earhart’s infamous disappearance over the Pacific Ocean, a heartbreaking and climatic ending befitting Earhart’s mysterious disappearance.

Amelia Earhart was a huge celebrity, breaking records and representing women in history. Her legend casts a large shadow, and this film doesn’t do her much justice. The film moves slowly and is boring at times, which is very disappointing.

Swank is moving as the independent and headstrong Earhart, making Earhart realistic, something our generation will never be able to experience. Swank’s co-star Gere still has his Pretty Woman suaveness as Earhart’s loving husband. Unfortunately, the two powerhouse actors combined could not save this film.

If it weren’t for the plot, the film may have been a hit; the costuming, locations, camera work and cast were incredible and right on the money. But as a whole, the film fails, crashing and burning like Earhart’s first attempt to fly around the world.