Catch Me If You Can is a brightly shot, glossy and stylish comedy-drama, set in 1960s America, directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the true story of Frank Abagnale jun, one of the most remarkable of conmen.

By the age of 21, young Frank had forged millions of dollars in cheques and, being a super-intelligent charmer of note, had convincingly posed as an airline pilot, a lawyer and a doctor by the time the FBI finally nailed him down.

Frank started his conning spree when he left home at the age of 16, devastated by the divorce of his parents - played by Oscar-nominee Christopher Walken and Nathalie Baye. A game of cat-and-mouse followed as he spent the next five years flitting from one country to the next, one persona to another, becoming the youngest person ever to make the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.

Tom Hanks crops up as dogged investigator Carl Hanratty who tails, nails, loses then eventually nails the youngster again. Although the zippy pacing stalls here and there for Spielberg to zoom in on issues of loneliness and matters patriarchal, the film is a constant delight, alone worth seeing for a back-on-form Leonardo DiCaprio and another great turn by Walken. Hanks, playing Hanks again, is effective but unremarkable.

Catch Me If You Can, featuring a fun, 60s-inspired score by John Williams and a terrific, retro-themed opening credits sequence, gets a rating of 8/10. - Billy Suter