Catch Me If You Can

January 1, 2003

Starring:Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Martin Sheen, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Garner

Director: Steven Spielberg

Official Website:
http://www.dreamworks.com/catchthem/jump2.html

Spielberg puts another great film together with Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hanks among the heavy hitters in this clever 1960`s true story of a teen fraud expert and the investigator who just can`t get his hands on him.

This is sort of like a cop and bad guy flick, just better. Built around an all-star cast and an all-star director, the movie concept might not be original but is executed flawlessly. The most amusing aspect to me was that in the end, the bad guy really wins even though it might not look that way. Dicaprio`s character is always depicted as somewhat of a Robin Hood doing dirty deeds for the good of helping out his troubled family robbed by the government. You can`t help but want Dicaprio to win, the charm and expertise of his character makes you compassionate for him.

The only thing I had a hard time believing was that for most of the movie Dicaprio is supposed to be playing a guy who is really ten years younger than himself in real life. I realize that the time span of the movie makes it hard for Spielberg to pull it off any other way, but I just couldn`t buy it. To me the character was 27 the whole time, so Spielberg didn`t get the effect he was hoping for. Actually, Spielberg does very little to put his signature on this movie, letting the cast and the script do all the work (Which is just fine in this case)

Basically, this is a great flick for pretty much anyone, slick, great cast, and it doesn`t seem 140 minutes long, go see it!!

In short:
Comedy: Some interesting situations, witty characters
Violence/language: Some strong language, no violence
Nudity/Sex: None
High Points: Great cast, bad guy wins, entertaining characters
Low Points: Dicaprio can't act 17, not enough "Spielberg Touch"

Rating: A-