As fun as it is intriguing.

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2003)

Fact (and true) Frank Abagnale Jr. ran away from home in the mid 1960s at the age of 16. By age 19 he had impersonated a teacher, an airline pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, all the while cashing millions of dollars in fraudulent cheques. If you're angry because I told you this up front, don't be. As I've said this is a true story and these facts are all told to you in the first 2 minutes of the film.
Also, as you should know by now if you've seen the trailer, "Catch Me If You Can" tells this intriguing, fast paced, fugitive life style of 'Skywayman' Frank Abagnale... as told by the man himself in his book by the same name.
I'll leave it at that... the facts are there, but how it's all told is purely another matter all together. And what actually happens to Frank, and his life should all be left to you to discover on your own (for me to spoil a movie in a review is quite uncommon anyway.)
But the storytelling is key, and Spielberg's translation from the pages of Abagnale's own scribe is very strong. Even though we are a mere observer, the film seemingly tells the story from Abagnale's point of view... as well it should, since the man himself lived the life, and wrote the book that the film was based upon.
But regardless how well you know or don't know the story of Frank W. Abagnale (who dropped the 'Junior' years ago), the film has a way of freshening it up, and bringing new life to it. We see his relationship with his parents, with the woman he eventually does fall in love with, and with his encounter with lawman Carl Hanratty, who seems to be the major target of his eluding. In this translation, we get to see the charm and charisma DiCaprio gives Abagnale's younger self as he makes his career in crime.
The films delivery is also quite simple. There are no secrets, no hidden agendas... just tells it like it needs to be told. But that suits this story. I usually take pleasure in films that surprise me, or one that brings me to a revelation that makes the film's outcome. But in 'Catch Me If You Can', I take more pleasure in seeing what comes next, instead of trying to determine how things will end up. (Most likely because I already know -- but as I've already mentioned, that doesn't take away from the movie.) This makes the movie 'easy' to watch, and at the same time entertaining, and not at all dull.
'Catch Me If You Can' is as fun as it is intriguing. Although it isn't the most moving picture out this year, it doesn't need to be. It simply is. It tells an interesting story, and does it well. A solid recommendation, and if it's the first film you see this year, it's a good start to 2003.