A Simple, Financially Escapist Fantasy That's Lighter Fare Than Most Spielberg Efforts

Rating: 6/10 (13 October 2014)

Lean, flirty material that lacks the emotional punch I've come to expect from Spielberg's direction. Tom Hanks and Leo DiCaprio are charismatic enough to keep things lively and entertaining, but their roles feel so stiff and rails-bound that there isn't room for them to add much in the way of extra spice. For the most part, the film's happy to ease back into simple escapism, embracing DiCaprio's shameless con-man tendencies as heroic and admirable, even when the repercussions couldn't have been pretty. Particularly uncomfortable is his stretch in residency as an MD, largely played for laughs, where he toys with more than just bankers' checkbooks. Christopher Walken appears in a throwaway role as the escapee's hard-luck father, but fails to pluck any of the intended heart strings and thus barely registers as more than an extended cameo. Satisfying at times, especially when it's inspecting the hard work and tireless attention to detail that's essential to such dirty work (not to mention the rewards), it whiffs on any aspirations to challenge grander themes.