Catch Me If You Can

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Garner, Martin Sheen
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Box Office: $164,615,351
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) was one of the most successful con artists of all time. Before his 21st birthday, he frauded banks out of millions of dollars, and successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer. A FBI agent (Tom Hanks) is hot on his trail, trying to bring Frank to justice.

Review:

Tim: The first thing I'm going to say about this movie is that although it is good, it is far, far too long. At about 2 and a half hours, even the best qualities start to get tiresome and you simply want the movie to end. That being said, Catch Me If You Can really is a good movie. It is so interesting to see how easy it was for Frank to con hundreds of people and frauding them out of millions of dollars. The movie is even more impressive because its based on a true story!

Spielberg, excellent as always, directs a very compelling film. He juggles comedy and the drama (which holds the picture together) perfectly. Best of all, he really utilizes the acting ability of his three stars.

I will admit that DiCaprio is brilliant in this film. I was glad he died in Titanic and thought The Beach was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I really do not like him, but I will concede that the guy can truly act. Tom Hanks, the best actor in Hollywood today, gives an odd, but good performance. Hanks is in a dramatic, but funny film, and draws on the comedic which he so well embodied in the 80s. His knock-knock joke is absolutely hilarious. Walken plays a more straight-laced character than many of his more bizarre roles, but he can do the normalcy thing very well, too.

All in all, despite being too long and slow in some parts, Catch Me If You Can is a good and fun film. Hanks and DiCaprio are great together, and Spielberg directs it all excellently.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Road to Perdition, Titanic, The Beach, Gangs of New York, The Ladykillers, Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial