fun but flaky

Rating: 4/10 (28 May 2003)

Spielberg found a great story, but managed to muck it up. There is too much emphasis on the character of Christopher Walken. Spielberg continues his slavish devotion to making the father-son relationship the controlling factor in all of his movies since E.T. Here, it doesn't work, and the far more interesting character of Agent Hanratty (Tom Hanks) is given short shrift.
For a cat-and-mouse game, this movie felt more like a pleasant cruise. Frank Abagnale (DiCaprio) was fun to watch, but there was never any tension built up, and the score reflected this as well. The relationship between Frank and Hanratty was more assumed than developed, and thus a great opportunity was lost. Still, a fun watch, ** out of ****.