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CATCH THIS SPIELBERG FLICK IF YOU CAN
a review of "catch me if you can"
by wenz

"My name is Frank Abagnale Jr, and some people consider me the world's greatest imposter. From 1964 to 1966 I successfully impersonated an airline pilot for Pan Am Airlines, and flew over two million miles for free. During that time I was also the Chief Resident Pediatrician at a Georgia hospital, the assistant Attorney General for the state of Louisiana, and a Professor of American History at a prestigious University in France. By the time I was caught and sentenced to prison, I had cashed over six million dollars in fraudulent checks in 26 foreign countries and all fifty states, and I did it all before my 18th birthday. To this day, I am the only teenager ever to have been placed on the FBI's ten most wanted list. My name is Frank Abagnale Jr." (Excerpt from the first scene of Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.)

Astig. This is one word to describe this movie. The storyline is basic. Good guy running after the bad guy.
It contains no grand gimmicks, no big hollywood effects, no hard-packed action scenes. But what makes this story unique from other "chase" movies, here, your sympathy will go equally to the catcher and the "catchy." Catchy? Hehe, sige na nga, prey na lang. One walks away from Catch Me If You Can unable to dislike Frank Abagnale Jr, in spite of the fact that in the end he's just one heck of a deceitful man.

Here's the summary of the movie:
Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a smart kid, who comes from a dysfunctional family. His Mom (Nathalie Baye) is having an affair, his Dad (Christopher Walken) is trying to work his way out of bankruptcy. They're both too busy to notice that young Frank has been impersonating a substitute French teacher at school, and has been holding Parent/Teacher conferences. But Frank loves his folks. When they divorce, Frank runs away and becomes a con man and one of the ten most wanted men in the country. Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) is an FBI agent who fails a couple of times before finally nabbing Frank. Four decades after, Abagnale is now one of the foremost authorities on corporate security.

My favorite scene in the movie is the close call between Frank and Carl. The one in the hotel room. Huli na, nakalusot pa. Panoorin nyo na lang basta maganda talaga.

DiCaprio portrayed the role of a young kid (if I'm not mistaken, Frank is only 19) when he, in fact, is already in his late twenties. Hanks was just as amazing as well. His portrayal was so realistic with the Boston accent, twitched mouth, intense look that those FBI people own, I couldn't believe Carl Hanratty and Forest Gump are the same person.

The costumes, sets and overall production design of the '60s period are detailed impeccably. You'll surely get the feeling of the era's groove with the Manicini-like music (Meron kaming CD nun, grabe nostalgic pag pinakinggan mo…para kang dinadala sa ibang era.) Cute din yung credits ng movie sa simula. Mala-pink panther J

The only drawback that I saw in this movie was its length. For me, it was too long. Not that it was dragging. But you'll get to the point where you just wanna find out how it ends. Yung tipong kala mo ending na, hindi pa pala.

I love this movie. I give it two thumbs-up.