10 Movies That Would Be Outstanding If They Weren't So Long

9. The Aviator

Length: 170 mins If Gangs of New York showcased how exciting the pairing of Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese could be, The Aviator proved that it's far from a guaranteed barometer for indispensable, tightly-crafted cinema. The enigmatic Howard Hughes is the perfect subject for this duo to tackle, though, as DiCaprio's boyishly good looks are the right amount of deceptive for portraying such an eccentric millionaire. Still, the plane-flying, aww shucks playboy shouldn't be the nucleus of The Aviator. We want to know how he became crazy hermit Howard Hughes! Tell us that story. Look, we understand that people want to see the young, handsome Leo DiCaprio. (His beautiful face on the posters surely sold half the tickets.) But we don't need 90 minutes of that. The more interesting part of Howard Hughes' life--his depression, reclusiveness, and descent into madness--occurs much too late in this movie. Those scenes of Hughes flying his planes are exciting and all, but we shouldn't be left waiting so long for the real fun to start.