disappointing execution and little concern for characters

Rating: 6/10 (22 March 2003)

First, the good news. Christopher Walken fans will appreciate the one gem of his movie -- his supporting performance. After that, there isn't much to hold this movie together.
Leonardo DiCaprio is mis-cast as someone who thrived on their anonymity -- while he happens to be one of the most over-exposed actors in Hollywood. Tom Hanks, along with his role in Road to Perdition, adds little dynamic to a key character -- seemingly taking a parallel to Dan Aykroyd's film career: a once-notable star playing forgettable roles, getting chubby from too much food and sitting on the laurels of former glory.
There are a few moments of interesting character situations, but none of the characters made me care about them (besides Walken). Characters are discarded so frequently in the chase for DiCaprio that the movie seems as shiftless as his character's life. While this conveys the nature of his on-the-run existence, it leads to a film with more of a laundry list of brief encounters rather than any richer storytelling.
There's an attempt to create a surrogate father-son relationship between DiCaprio and Hanks, but it is handled superficially and merely suggested. There's probably more they could have done to bring out an interesting dynamic between these two key characters. More also could have been done to bring out the dynamic of the real father's influence on the son.
The movie employs the classic switch between past and future scenes, but there's no mystery in them other than the mundane details of how they will inevitably connect -- as the audience presumes from the start. A few clever escapes here and there, but they are hardly captivating, let alone memorable.
To its credit, making a story about a fugitive guilty of fraudulent checks is hardly Hollywood sexy these days. But the entire experience left me expecting more from this movie.