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Rating: 9/10 (9 June 2017)

This is one of the greatest films ever made and, like many great films, it became so through happenstance. Catch Me If You Can was sat on for twenty years and then went through several star actors and directors before DiCaprio, Hanks, and Spielberg took the reins. While I have my grievances about Tom Hanks in this film, he was at least a good stepping stool for DiCaprio. This is personally one of my favorite Leo performances, an opportunity not wasted to showcase his incredible range. As for Spielberg, most critics will label this film as not one of his best, but I ostensibly disagree. Can you imagine if Verbinski or Fincher directed this? The central motif would have been drowned by overzealous desires to focus on audiences' base attraction to rebellion. Spielberg's finesse and directorial impulse control were perfect for this film. He was uniquely qualified to tackle the melancholy themes in Catch Me If You Can and have them wrapped up and presented in a beautiful, lighthearted package that was just right for the Christmas season. Anachronisms and Hanks aside, this film is a fun and powerful message to those in and from broken homes. Top 150 film. 9/10 — ￼watching Catch Me If You Can.