Review of Catch Me If You Can (2002) by Itrepair A — 01 Apr 2013

Run, Leo, run, Forrest is after you! Tom Hanks must have gotten on board with this project because, well, he and Steve Spielberg are good buddies who have won each other a whole lot of awards, but also because he got confused, thought that this was "Minority Report", a certain other Spielberg film of 2002, and was hoping to get into a race with Tom Cruise to finally determine which Tom runs faster. Well, regardless of what this film's sort of action-packed poster might lead you to believe, there isn't so much a lot of running, as much as there's a lot of phone calls and document investigations, but nevertheless, I kind of wish that Cruise was in this film, seeing as how I could buy him, someone who is twelve years older than DiCaprio, more as a teenager (Why don't you age, Xen-I mean, Tom?). Oh, I'm talking nonsense, because if DiCaprio's in the role, then you probably shouldn't even bother considering someone else, even though he hardly looks like he could be Christopher Walken's kid. Wow, it just hit me that we're talking about Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, two of the absolute greatest actors of all time, brought together by Steven Spielberg right in the middle of his phase of doing heavier efforts, and yet, we end up with a comedy. Eh, well, it's more of a comedy-drama, complete with some deep bits, and besides, DiCaprio could be doing "Monty Python", and he would still try to find a place to be Oscar-worthy, so it's not like this film fails to fulfill some degree of its potential as the long-anticipated collision between DiCaprio and Hanks, but I would have still loved to see them in an acting-off, even thought it would have ended a bit of a disappointing note: DiCaprio not even getting an honorable mention for outacting everyone, and Hanks having his Oscar stolen from him by Denzel Washington. Needless to say, it's a good thing that this film makes up for its shortcomings by being, in most every other way, really darn good, and yet, with that said, as much as I hate to admit it, this film's not being as fair as it should be with its distribution of acting material to two of the acting industry's best is the least of its problems.

The story of Frank William Abagnale, Jr., the teenaged con man who claimed millions becoming a distinguished figure in many places by elaborately and seamlessly tricking his way into roles that would take the honest years to achieve often overnight, is nothing short of a crazy one, and I don't doubt that it really happened, yet it has the potential to be brought to the screen in a fashion that could be every bit as ludicrous-feeling as it could be entertaining, and sure enough, seeing as how we're dealing with Steven Spielberg, a man who isn't always as subtle as he probably should be, this film's storytelling, while adequately compelling, is a bit overemphatic about the absurdities of Abagnale's true tall tale, whether they be a bit Hollywooded up or just crazy enough to be true, leaving suspension of disbelief to be a bit too much of a challenge at times. If nothing else, the overemphasis of the ostensibly over-the-top happenings that move this plot along gets to be kind of aimlessly repetitious, which isn't to say that there aren't other forms of plotting that get to be a bit familiar, thanks largely to there being a bit too much material to keep directly focused. At almost two-and-a-half hours, this film isn't exactly one of your tighter dry-humor crime-chase comedies, and all too often, it makes sure that you don't forget it, being rich with material that is rarely truly expendable, but sometimes a touch too fatty, until you are left checking your watch before too long. The film is borderline paceless, and that really gives you a chance to dwell on how overlong the film is in a lot of places, and yet, with that said, if nothing else is wrong with this film's pacing, it's awkward unevenness that leaves the film to both often outstay itself welcome and, of course, often get to be a bit too tight for its own good. The film could use to trimming around the edges, but if this film were to retain its fatty edges, then pack on even more meat and find itself going way over the expected runtime, I reckon I'd still prefer it to the final product seen here, because as enjoyable and colorfully fleshed out as this character study is, there come plenty of points in which the film gets to be a bit slapdash in its suddenly tightening things up, whether it be through the montages that are the most repetitious things about this film, or simply through the thinning of exposition to the point of slightly loosening your grip on full investment. Make no mistake, your grip is never so loosened that you slip too far away from this film, whose compensation is so worthwhile the film all but achieves excellent, but at the end of the chase, the film has lost a bit too much steam to be what it could have been, acceling through and through, but all too often being held back by its considerable pacing issues. Still, as many hits as the final product's momentum takes, it's not too hard to catch up with reward value, and quite a bit of it, as the film does indeed deliver on enough kick to keep you going, partially with the help of some lively musical tastes.

The film doesn't quite play up the music of the era as much as I had expected or hoped that it would, but there still more than a few fun little diddies of the mid-'60s and back that liven things up, though not quite as much as the much more recurring musical touches of John Williams, who turns in a relatively unique score that sometimes trips up a bit in its keeping consistent with reasonably originality, yet generally powers on as a dynamic and delightful marriage of old-fashioned smoothness with some light modern classical pronunciation that is distinct to the point of bonding with the final product and helping in defining it. Williams' musical style breathes quite a bit of life into things, much like the visual style that further reflects Janusz Kami?ski's likely being among today's great cinematographer, being stylishly well-framed, as well as lush and crisp in its lighting and coloring, which is dynamic in its flavor, yet consistently lovely, or at least until lovliness is broken up by golden moments of photography that simply take your breath away, of which, there are many. The sights and sounds, and, for that matter, Michael Kahn's snappy editing are all components to the slick style that helps in pumping up entertainment value, and when it comes substance, the film delivers, or at least up to a point, because, like I said, the film feels a bit held back in plenty of places, - partially because it will be difficult for some people to fully buy into this tale, regardless of marketers' going on and on with all of this, "based on a true" story mumbo jumbo - but not so held back that you can't recognize the reasonable degree of wealth to this character study, which is layered and lively, as well as done quite a bit of justice by what is, in fact, done quite right in the writing departments. "Speed 2" and "Rush Hour" writer Jeff Nathanson turns in script that is not without its problematic points in structuring that dilute full investment, pulling anything from the aforementioned pacing issues to even going so far as to spill the beans and waste no time in telling you that our protagonist in this chase opus ends up caught by the "antagonist", yet through all of its shortcomings, Nathanson's writing effort is a worthwhile one that delivers on clever dialogue and humor, as well as colorful characterization that brings much engagement value to life, and is itself brought to life by the efforts of Steven Spielberg, whose storytelling is, like always, flawed, but stronger than usual, delivering on plenty of energy broken up by the occasional unexpected moving note. The film is very compelling, and if it was tighter in some places, meatier in others, and all around more singular in its aim, it very well could have been excellent, yet as things stand, it is consistently entertaining, with wit and intrigue surrounding colorful characters, backed by colorful performances. Sure, few performances are stronger than colorful, because this isn't exactly one of those films that would demand all that much from a cast this studded with talent, as I stated in my opener through complaints that this isn't exactly the breathtaking acting-off that you might hope it to be, but make no bones about it, most everyone charms, with show-stealers, including the cute and sometimes even emotionally strong Amy Adams as the good-natured, if a little naive love interest of our lead, as well as the convincing Christopher Walken as the not-so honest, yet reasonably good and loving father who will face the loss of wealth and wife, as well as danger looming over his beloved boy's head. Of course, needless to say, the real forces behind this film are two of the greatest actors of all time and our leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, both of whom stand to have more material, considering the potential the pairing of performers of this caliber, yet deliver nevertheless, with Hanks being as charismatic and convincing as always in his effortlessly natural portrayal of Frank Abagnale's ficitionalized key pursuer, while DiCaprio bypasses the material limitations to stand as weaker than usual, and by extension, not simply strong, or excellent, but just plain great (You heard me: "weaker than usual"), being exceedingly charming as the infamous genius of a young con man, who DiCaprio slowly, but surely grows to portray with effective layers and, yes, even the occasional piece of powerful emotion (DiCaprio has a crying sequence toward the final act that just plain breaks your heart, as with just about any other DiCaprio crying sequence), leaving our lead to bond near-profoundly with his role and effortlessly command your thorough investment in him. DiCaprio is powerful, as always, yet gives Hanks enough room to distinguish himself on the other side of this cat-mouse relationship, thus making for electric chemistry that helps in defining the film, whose colorful writing and slick style also deserves some credit for crafting a final product that entertains and rewards thoroughly.

When the chase is over, you're bound to be left a little bit thrown off by the film's being a bit too overemphatic about its absurd yet supposedly realistic story, as well as by pacing unevenness that leaves this near-two-and-a-half-hour-long flick to get bloated in some places, and much too thinned out in others, thus making for a near-aimless opus that falls just short of excellent, but still hits pretty hard, delivering on a lively soundtrack and score, as well as gorgeous cinematography and other forms of slick style that liven up substance that is colorful enough in concept, as well as brought to life by clever writing and reasonably inspired direction, as well as by a hefty cast of charismas, headed by the strong Tom Hanks and predictably outstanding Leonardo DiCaprio, who help in making Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" an entertaining and often even genuinely compelling chase flick.

3.25/5 - Strong.