Overview
A master of deception plays a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the FBI.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- breezy
- nostalgic
- lazy sunday
- movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as stylish, breezily entertaining, warm, and highly effective, especially because of Leonardo DiCaprio's performance and the chemistry between its leads.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Frank Abagnale Jr. repeatedly eludes Carl Hanratty, while their adversarial relationship develops into the film's central human connection.
Frank's impersonations as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor are staged as colorful, stylish acts of self-invention.
Frank adopts multiple professional identities and relies on confidence, appearance, and forged checks to gain access and trust.
Frank's frauds allow him to escape consequences and construct substitute identities amid family disruption and loneliness.
Films like Catch Me If You Can, and why
The Talented Mr. Ripley
shares a stylish, breezy crime caper tone with a charismatic con artist protagonist and playful pursuit structure
American Hustle
shares a true-crime foundation, charismatic deception, identity performance, and an entertaining cat-and-mouse dynamic
The Wolf of Wall Street
shares a warm, accessible biographical crime style centered on an audacious fraud and the consequences of deception
The Sting
shares a fast-moving con-artist narrative, period styling, and a surprisingly humane emotional core
Movie Details
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Release Date
- 2002-12-16
- Runtime
- 141 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (17627)
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Tom Hanks
- Christopher Walken
- Martin Sheen
- Nathalie Baye
- Amy Adams
- James Brolin
- Brian Howe
- Frank John Hughes
- Steve Eastin
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Catch Me If You Can about?
- A charismatic teenage impostor turns forged checks and borrowed identities into a dazzling escape from adulthood while an FBI agent closes in.
- What is Catch Me If You Can like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Catch Me If You Can as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Catch Me If You Can violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Catch Me If You Can.
- What did critics think of Catch Me If You Can?
- Critics broadly praised the film as stylish, breezily entertaining, warm, and highly effective, especially because of Leonardo DiCaprio's performance and the chemistry between its leads.
- Which films are like Catch Me If You Can?
- Films with a similar feel include The Talented Mr. Ripley, American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Sting.
- How long is Catch Me If You Can?
- Catch Me If You Can runs 141 minutes.
- Where can I watch Catch Me If You Can?
- In United States, Catch Me If You Can streams on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.
