Set in the Victorian era The Aeronauts is a film about a weather scientist James Glaisher, played by Eddie Redmayne, and air balloon pilot Amelia Rennes, played by Felicity Jones, who travel high in the sky in a humongous hot air balloon in search of the ability to predict future weather.
When it comes to The Aeronauts it has received a lot of criticism from historians as the film is meant to be based on the flight of James Glaisher and Henry Coxwell, who is replaced in the film by the fictional character of Amelia Rennes. While I don't particularly care about whether films take historical liberties for the sake of story, I can understand why people may get annoyed by the erasing of one of the leading aeronauts of the 20th century.
What was striking about the film was some of the stunning imagery of the skies that actually made one feel like one was in a hot air balloon staring at a sunset. I also rather enjoyed the numbers that would appear on the screen to show how long the aeronauts were in the sky. However, that’s where the positives of the film end for me.
The film was an eternal bore that even the hot air balloon action scenes couldn't save. The film starts with one of the most bizarre opening credit scenes in cinema. Furthermore, the production design didn’t make one feel that they were in 19th century London but rather a fancy-dress party. The writing was particularly strange and the Cinematography bland.
Eddie Redmayne was very good at playing Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, who I am a big fan of, looked like she drank too much coffee on set before shooting. A lot of people in the screening I was in seemed to enjoy it but I guess it wasn’t my cup of tea.
Rating: 3/5