A lot less momentous in subject matter than most recent Steven Spielberg films, Catch Me If You Can is the "inspired by a true story" tale of Frank Abagnale Jr (Leonardo di Caprio), a mature-looking teenager who spent the 1960s as an odd type of conman: passing himself off as an airline pilot to get free flights, holding down a job as supervisor of an ER team, and even passing a bar exam after only two weeks' study, all the while dealing in forged cheques. As his illicit earnings spiral up above four million dollars, Frank is dogged by FBI agent Hanratty (Tom Hanks), a plodder who begins to have a relationship with his quarry--the boy politely telephones him every Christmas to catch up.

It may have a Spielbergian running time (two hours and 20 minutes) and boast big stars usually found only in thumping epics, but it's basically a breezy character piece with tactful shots of melancholy amid the high-flying, no-harm-done criminality. DiCaprio does his best screen work as the compulsive impersonator, turning his rather vague presence to his advantage as he slips into his various roles, and the typical Spielberg fathers-and-sons theme is delicately played in the kid's scenes with his real (Christopher Walken) and surrogate dads. It's a pleasure to find that Spielberg can play it light without sacrificing depth. Set in the pastel 1960s, with James Bond and vintage Flash comics for context, the film has smart patter, a terrific mod-look credits animation and John Williams' most finger-snappin' score in decades. --Kim Newman

Steven Spielberg directed crime caper based on a true story in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays a young master con artist who passes himself off as a doctor, lawyer and pilot among other things whilst jetting around America and the world living off cashed fraudulent cheques to the tune of millions of dollars, whilst Tom Hanks's FBI agent tries to apprehend him. A surprisingly dull effort from Spielberg which dragged for the two hours plus that it ran: I was looking at my watch wondering when it was going to end, frankly. Not Spielberg's best by a long shot: perhaps he doesn't do true life stories as well as fiction? Because he was clearly having an off-day here. Not recommended.

I really liked this movie and i thought that it was real entertaining. i really liked how he kept switching characters.The story line moved rapidly and kept people on the edge of there sits. i would definitely recommend this movie to my friends. The only flaw was that it is kind of sad that it is true. Frank Abagnale Jr's life story acted out by Di Caprio comes out as a combination of sheer luck and guile. he is not a bad person just someone who is confident in front of the whole world but insecure to his father and Tom Hanks. I found the incident of how he passed the Bar Exam really interesting...the guy had brains. This DVD also does justice to the real life persona as well.

This is slow-moving and sugary sweet. Leonardo di Caprio is clearly growing into a more mature actor, but Tom Hanks' now slow pace makes this a but turgid, and definitely Sunday night material.

A nice story struggling to be a Thriller. Wait to record if off the TV.

Based on a true story, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN provides a congenial theater outing.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale, Jr., who, between the ages of 16 and 19, successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a physician, and a lawyer. In the process, he passed phony checks totaling millions of dollars. Tom Hanks plays Carl Hanratty, the nerdy FBI agent out to bust young Frank.

This is probably the best acting performance by DiCaprio since TITANIC, which isn't saying much, and Hanks has done better. However, both actors apparently had a lot of fun with their roles here, and it's that energy that makes CATCH ME IF YOU CAN a film worth watching. Also, Christopher Walken is wonderful as the enigmatic Frank Abagnale, Sr., whose business and marriage is ruined by the IRS, which is pursuing him for reasons left largely unspecified. And, while it was never clear to me whether the Old Man clearly understood the extent of his son's mischief, the occasional sly grin and whisper in the ear seemed to indicate that he admired and envied his boy's larcenous spirit and adventurous lifestyle.

This film is a flight into nostalgia for those of us old enough to remember the days when commercial air travel still had ??lan, when pilots were heroes, and when the politically correct "cabin attendants" were elegant "stewardesses". There's one comic scene involving Frank, Carl and an in-flight chocolate ??clair that pointedly recalls that coach fare used to be more than an apple and bagged peanuts.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN drags a little by the end, and the lesson of the epilog might be that crime pays. However, it's a reminder that fact can be genuinely more entertaining than FX-laden fiction.

We all really enjoyed this movie, far more than we expected to. Having expected a bit of enjoyable 'fluff', was actually much better than that.