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Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can

Drama · Crime · 2002

A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.

Movie details

Catch Me If You Can

“The true story of a real fake.”

2002 Drama · Crime 2h 21m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.0 / 10

Community rating

A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Catch Me If You Can?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Michael Clayton

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Richard Jewell

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Richard Jewell thinks quick, works fast, and saves hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives after a domestic terrorist plants several pipe bombs and they explode during a concert, only to be falsely suspected of the crime by sloppy FBI work and sensational media coverage.

Breach

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Steven Spielberg

Written by

Jeff Nathanson

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio

Frank Abagnale Jr.

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Carl Hanratty

Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken

Frank Abagnale

Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen

Roger Strong

Nathalie Baye

Nathalie Baye

Paula Abagnale

Amy Adams

Amy Adams

Brenda Strong

James Brolin

James Brolin

Jack Barnes

Court is in session

Put Catch Me If You Can on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.