Catch Me If You Can [DVD] [2003]

Steven Spielberg directs this incredible-but-true story of the young life of Frank Abagnale Jr. Following the traumatic divorce of his beloved parents (Christopher Walken and Nathalie Baye) in the 1960s, at age sixteen Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes AWOL, becoming a prodigious cheque forger and impersonator of a Pan-Am pilot, a doctor and lawyer. Soon he has the FBI fraud squad on his trail, in particular dogged agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), who carries on a game of cat-and-mouse with Abagnale over a few years.

You will not be disappointed if you buy this movie. The special features on the double disc dvd are very good, and gives a great insight into the making of the film, and an interview with the real man, Frank Abagnale.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale Jr.; a young and bright kid who can con with the best of them. How he got there is that he has learned from the best, his father. Things get shaky when his parents are undergoing investigations from the IRS and his mother wants to get a divorce. Not knowing what else to do, Frank runs away and tries his best to make it on his own by doing what he does best: con. Posing in many different occupations such as an airline co-pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer triggers a cat/mouse chase conducted by FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks). The movie keeps your attention throughout and leaves you unsure of what's going to happen next.

I loved everything about this movie. It was ten times better than I thought it would've been, mainly because the trailers do mislead you (as many have said) into thinking that you're going to be seeing a whacky chase comedy with all sorts of shenanigans and mishaps. Well, yes it is a funny movie at times, but I don't think I would really label it as a comedy. A lot of the things that happen in the film are actually heartbreaking and sad. So be aware of that when you decide to buy a ticket for this one.

The performances were more than ingenious. Tom Hanks is as great as ever and really takes his role to the limit while DiCaprio also proves to be a fabulous actor as well, and also is able to show us there is life after "Titanic." Everybody else was really great in the film, especially the great Christopher Walken as Frank Abagnale Sr. (your eyes never leave his sight when he's on the screen).

Stephen Spielberg does an outstanding job of orchestrating this wildly unpredictable film. It doesn't always have to be sci-fi this or aliens-that when it comes to his films. He's able to expose the heart of the story with ease in this film, not cheating us out of anything at any point during the entire movie. I wished he'd do more films like these because he's really good at it. Although I do love some of sci-fi films like "Minority Report," I think his more realistic films like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" is when you get to see his true and unique talent at its absolute best.

"Catch Me if You Can" was a pleasant surprise for me. I did not plan on liking it as much as I did, which in itself is a pretty neat quality of the film. Just remember that this isn't supposed to be a "dead-on" comedy. There are funny and amusing moments, but some of the things you will see are actually sad in some cases. Still, this is a very well-made movie with top notch performances that definitely deserve recognition. Very worth your time.