Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg, 2002) Review

Calling it! Leonardo DiCaprio's best role. I would rather watch this than his other big films such as Titanic and Inception. In fact, everyone in this film is great. Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken are excellent (especially Hanks). This is one of Speilberg's underrated yet best films (kind of like Hook) and it really shows how great of a director he is.

Based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr. (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio), Frank, the son of Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), has caught the attention of the police as he's become a expert con artist after is 19th birthday. FBI agent Carl Hanratty Jr (Tom Hanks) is sent after Frank but is constantly one step behind him due to his expert conning skills allowing him to move around the country with millions of dollars at his disposal. Carl's main aim is to outsmart Frank and catch him...if he can!

I absolutely adore the clever ways in which Frank manages to out wit the authorities. There is lots of suspense built up and it pays off well. It's always great to see how Frank gets out of tight situations such as signing up to a hospital to hide out or claim he's another FBI agent in order to confuse Carl. It leads to some excellent scenes between Frank and Carl and also the expansion on their relationship. It's the main reason I love this film. It's a clever film that really makes you think about how you might get out of those situations. I've taken things away from it.

That's actually another great point. I wouldn't say they become friends but get become close, almost as if they're playing a game. What with Frank taunting Carl by calling him every Christmas (taking place over several years). You really learn to like both of the characters but you don't want Frank to get caught since the relationship would end. They actually learn to trust each other by the end and there is great development over the course of the narrative.

Catch Me If You Can restored by faith in Leonardo DiCaprio (didn't really like him after Titanic) and Tom Hanks plays one of his best roles. It's an excellent retelling of Frank Abagnale Jr's story with some engaging characters, acting, writing and developments. Some people may figure things out before others but all in all it is a great film that really makes you think.

Verdict:
8.5/10
An excellent film that makes you think. It doesn't dumb things down and is thrilling to the end.