Steven Spielberg teamed up with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio to make Catch Me If You Can, a project that had been in the works for a while with various other directors and stars attached. A part of me wishes James Gandolfini had remained cast in Hanks’ part, but that stems more from my love of the underappreciated Gandolfini.
DiCaprio plays real life con man Frank Abagnale, Jr and Hanks portrays the FBI agent, Carl Hanratty, whose job it is to track him down. Based off of Abagnale’s autobiography and with DiCaprio’s exuberant charm, it rarely comes across that Abagnale is the villain of this story and he remains very much the protagonist. Hanratty doesn’t appear much for the first hour or so of the film and his scenes leave him fumbling about flustered, in the wake of Abagnale’s latest disappearance. Hanks plays him well, especially with his ethereal good guy aura, but there seems to be a bias towards Abagnale.
Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Amy Adams and Jennifer Garner offer great support, yet the fact remains they are all underused, especially Garner. Spielberg seems committed to have us rooting for Abagnale from the very beginning, showing us the traumatic events in his past leading to him eventually deciding to con his way through life. Because of this, it leaves very little time for Spielberg to explore and develop the other characters. In a way, that may be Spielberg’s attempt at showing us how Abagnale is like a tornado, passing through people's lives without much hesitation at the damage he does but his incessant need to show us the good side of Abagnale leaves that up for debate.
The cat-and-mouse moments, of course, are the best in the film. The sheer ludicrousness of the situations Abagnale puts himself in, including imitating a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer to name but some, are only outmatched by Hanratty’s disbelief as he remains in hot pursuit. A standout scene is Abagnale’s ingenious use of stunning air hostesses as a distraction in order for him to board a plane right under the nose of an airport filled with FBI agents who are looking for him. Spielberg creates an entertaining, yet ultimately lacklustre, ride with great performances from an all-star cast.
Score: 68/100