Posted by jthecamb at wv-morgantown-cdnt1-bg1-4g-110.mgtnwv.adelphia.net on May 14, 2003 at 22:47:32:
I wrote this for another board, so I thought I'd just cut and paste it here. Minor spoilers......
Catch Me If You Can is a very interesting movie that runs a bit long (140 minutes). I think if about 30 minutes were shaved off, it would make for a better movie since it is essentially a simple, entertaining movie that drags in some spaces.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays a kid who is a master impersonator/check forger, who uses these talents to attain millions of dollars and travel the world. Walken plays his father, who is obliviously proud of his son for being a success.
And Hanks is the idiotic cop who can't seem to catch DiCaprio no matter what. The entire time I was thinking, "Surely, there's a smarter person in America to head up this department."
At the end you are possibly compelled to believe that Hanks' character is really smart, but I'm not buying it.
Christopher Walken was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor, and I'm not sure why. I love Walken, but his part is simple and he's primarily absent in the second half of the film.
Anyway, despite having many memorable moments and having some great performances, Catch Me If You Can falls short of greatness but is worthy of a watch.
Just make sure you're in the mood for a movie when you start watching.
Check it out.