I've given up.

Rating: 6/10 (6 February 2003)

hi, My names Pip Hodgkinson and before I go any further I'd just
like to say Speilberg is one of the most fantastic directors in this
day and age, but this film is the last straw.
Why oh why can't he end a movie? With AI I was a little upset, but
on a second viewing I was satisfied with the glossy ending. With
Minority Report I was in a world of my own until he went off on his
Brian De Palmer tour of filmmaking! And on a second viewing I
was just as upset that he managed what could have been the
finest film last year look very ordinary with the last 20minutes. So
Catch Me If You Can was his chance of redemption, prove that he
has a little more variety in his abilities as a filmmaker than
constantly not being to end a film (god knows what would have
happened if he'd directed the Ice Storm!) so image my distress
when I'm loving the movie, pleased with the plot,pace and
performances then bang. Theres an ending, but no Steven doesn't
want to leave us with any distaste in our mouths so he takes us off
on a 15minute buddy movie style ending, oh at first they were
against each other then now! the work with each other! Wow didnt
see that one coming. If Minority Reports ending reminded me of
Mission Impossible then Catch Me if you can was Dragnet. Then
he manages to do the most lazy straight to tv trick in the history of
cinema. Oh yeah you got it, he uses the rolling text to make sure
we understand that it IS an happy ending.
So while I celebrated both Minority Report and AI as good films that
could have been great. Catch Me If You Can is not its a disgrace, it
had all the makings of being ten times better than both the before
mentioned films and one of the best films of the year but he
manages to make the film ordinary with its ending. So why should
we praise this movie?
Speilberg is the greatist movie maker for the openings to his films,
take Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Indiana Jones (all three) and now
Catch Me If You Can and you can see a genius at work. But I find it
very hard to find an exceptional Speilberg ending since Jaws?
Surely thats as or more important than the start?