Excessive

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2003)

There appear to be two Steven Speilbergs in Cinema: Speilberg the filmaker, responsible for such films as Schindler's list and Speilberg the entertainer, responsible for films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Sometimes, he manages to balance out both with films such as Jaws as the result. I usually enjoy his more balanced out films, they really entertain while catching your deep thoughts. However, sometimes there's a sign of a clash between the two. In 2001's A.I. Speilberg seemed to want to have a Kubrick film yet at the same time dazzle the audience with vibrant chase sequences and harrowing visual effects. The clash usually ends up in somewhat of a mess, not neccessarly bad but not really that good either. That being said, I'll move onto the review. Catch Me if You Can is definitely a clash of Speilberg. He wants to provide the viewer with a quick and stlyish movie about one of the moust astounding criminals in the world yet also provide them with a deep, rich character study. Unfortunately, the script seems to go more with the quick aspect, providing flashy dialouge such as in Frank's Father, Christopher Walk's character. What ends up happening is a rather solid film, but it could have been a bit more. Leornado Dicaprio shines as the intelligent yet somewhat misguided Frank. He conveys his emotional moments and his excited moments effortlessly, really making the viewer think he's 17. Tom Hanks provides solid work here, but he seems to be a bit over- the- top with his character. Christopher Walken offers valuable support here, perhaps showing the route of the motivations for Frank's crime spree. With a good enough cast, this movie clicks instantly and follows through... almost till the end. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line the movie trips on it's own legs and becomes quite repeating. It ends up just being one con job aftr another, trying to inspire excitment in the viewer then get emotions out of them by showing Frank's internal dilemna. The script is solid enough and Speilberg's directing a bit unfocused but still all right. That being said, it's not that Catch Me If You Can is neccessarily a bad movie, quite the contrary really. It's an interesting $9 spent, a sort of ride yet an emotional experience. Speilberg clashes indeed, but the rest of the movie sticks together well enough. 7.5/10