Powerful, captivating and enjoyable!

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2020)

Catch Me If You Can is the best example of how a great film should be made. The director of this movie, Steven Spielberg is known for his epic Hollywood films, but this one feels a bit different and is a lot more lightweight, but still very interesting and at times powerful.
Right from the opening credits, I knew that this was going to be an entertaining
movie, and it was. This movie was witty and hilarious at times, and with sharp writing and non-stop action, it really delivers this story, which is inspired by one in real life, as well.
We can see a teenager boy, Frank Abagnale, his father, the other Frank Abagnale and the FBI agent Carl Hanratty. The story centres on the counterfeiting checks by Frank Abagnale Jr. and on the persecution of Frank with the FBI, and especially Carl Hanratty.
The film begins as Frank parents get divorced. From his father, Frank gets his first 25$ in his checking account. He starts to fake checks because his main goal is to get his parents back together and return his father's money. The film reaches a turning point when police starts to chase him. As the story progresses he begins to change the way he fakes money and becomes a doctor to hide from the FBI agent Carl Hanratty. But the police find his number and Carl phones him. Between them there is an interesting conversation and soon after that Frank was caught by the FBI.
Leonardo DiCaprio was light on his feet in a way that feels very far removed from his more recent performances, taking on the role of a notorious conman whose exploits seem too impossible to be true. The based-on-a-true-story narrative is extremely well calibrated, with screenwriter Jeff Nathanson effortlessly blending family dynamics, chase-film elements, con-artistry, various love interests and side-plots, and two, off-beat, father-son relationships that stretch between DiCaprio and his dad, warmly played by Christopher Walken with twinges of sadness in-between the margins, and Tom Hanks, as the FBI agent who doggedly pursues the young criminal as he hitches free rides on planes and cashes his own perfectly forged checks. There isn't one aspect to this film I'm not enamored with, between the jaunty John Williams score to the gorgeous cinematography from Janusz Kaminiski, and then there's that amazing opening title sequence, Michael Kahn's peppy editing, and that ridiculous supporting cast.
For many people this movie became one of the favorites and I know why. The plot is amazing and completely unpredictable. The actors are famous and they were selected professionally. The film definitely succeeded, we can see that because this film has now become a classic. I can't see any bad things about this movie. Maybe there were a few special effects, but I think drama and crime movies don't need that many special effects.
All the actors did really great jobs here, DiCaprio was perfect for the role, Walken delivered a moving performance, and Tom Hanks was unsurprisingly terrific. Amy Adams, who I haven't mentioned was in this, was also great. As I said, all the actors were just great, and there's not much more to add to that.
I also was astonished by this movie as the director shot so many peculiar and unique details which helped us to understand the personality of Abagnale. For instance, the scene when Frank comes to cash his checks and witnesses the name tags whether the woman is Miss or Mrs. for the purpose of flirting or not. Or another moment, when at the beginning of the movie the comics with Flash hero are shown just next to the Frank's bed and after that the allusion to this hero appears during the whole movie.
So , I highly recommend to watch this movie to anyone who like strong movies where there are many great moments where you feel suspense as you will surely enjoy the great work of Spielberg and the perfect acting of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.