After lurking in the stuffy, sci-fi-flavoured darkness of AI and Minority Report (schmaltz-out endings notwithstanding), Steven Spielberg took a long, deep breath of clean '60s air and exhaled Catch Me If You Can. This based-on-fact tale of teen con artist Frank Abagnale Jr is undeniably refreshing, although its brash, episodic caper structure fails to disguise a rather predictable father/son play-off between Tom Hanks' G-man and Leo DiCaprio's youthful quarry. Still, it's never less than likeable and is easily Señor Spielberg's most consistent - which isn't to say best - offering in years.
DVD Extras:
Not sure if 77 minutes of extras on the retail release warrant a second disc, but there's a satisfying enough spread of support material. The Behind The Camera and Cast Me If You Can featurettes effectively capture the shoot's on-the-hoof nature and show off Leo suffering with flu, Hanks chatting with Abagnale, Spielberg grinning like a little kid and, best of all, Walken revealing how he nailed his Oscar-nom-worthy performance as Abagnale Sr.A 'Play All' option would have been nice as the layout is rather bitty, but menu-hounds should appreciate the slick, animated-stickman presentation (plus a choice of three visual themes on the feature disc). Commentary-lovers beware, though. As ever, Spielberg declines to share his thoughts on a voiceover, so instead we get his good buddy Mr Nobody saying precisely nothing. Boo.
