Well, I took the bullet and went to see the dreaded Catwoman. One thing I can say is that at least I didn't pay for it! Gotta love cross promoting with DVD releases, where they give you a pass to see the movie.
Catwoman has a long a storied history on it's journey to the big screen. Initially there were plans to make a movie with Michelle Pfeiffer under the mask shortly after Batman Returns came out, teasing the possibility at the end of the movie. Years went by and no Catwoman movie appeared. Pfeiffer went on to other projects and Catwoman languished. Then Ashley Judd was signed on to play the lead and it looked like the project was back on track. Then a while later Judd dropped out, and the project died down again. Then Halle Berry came on board and finally there was movement. Then the cast and director all fell into place and they started filming. Then those awful pictures of the costume started leaking out, let the outcry begin! This was followed by the trailer which looked pretty sad, save that magical way that Halle made that awful costume look so good. Early word trickled out onto the net, and it was not good. Mainstream critics gave there take on the film, also not good. Now the film has been in theaters for almost a week, and the box office, too, is not good. Now it is my turn to impart my take,which may or may not be not good.
The movie is not a complete waste, but it is pretty close. The story is more or less non-existent. There is an attempt at one, the sad thing is that it is not all that interesting. Here's the quick outline, our hero is Patience Phillips, a shy advertising designer who sees something she shouldn't, is killed and brought back by a pack of cats, now she must piece together that night and why she was killed, meanwhile the police and a cosmetics company are out to get her.
There story has a lot of problems in it. Firstly, it does not respect the source material, I don't need it to be an exact copy, but I don't want it scrapped either. They change the characters name, relocate her, and have no mention of Batman or Gotham. Back to the story, I didn't like how she 'forgot' the events that led up to her death, even the fact that she had died. This means it takes longer for the story to gain focus, therefore losing the character development that could have been done. Also, we have more entries to the stupid cop hall of fame, without giving to much away, if this so-called detective took as long as he did to get a clue, he would have been fired a long time ago. Our bad guys have very little screen time to develop into much more than mere window dressing. Finally, there is a week attempt to give some mythology to the character through some mumbo jumbo about mystical cats and catwomen through the years, we are even treated to a photo of Michelle Pfeiffer from Batman Returns.
I don't really blame the low quality of this film on the cast, I just blame them for agreeing to do such a bad script. Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, and Benjamin Bratt are all talented actors that can deliver fine performances, but there isn't much they can do when the dialogue is this bad. There are just some really awful lines delivered here. The story goes nowhere, the dialogue doesn't help, but it did make me smile in disbelief. If only Mystery Science Theater 3000 was still on, they would have a lot of fun with this one.
Pitof chose this as his Hollywood debut, after his French directorial debut, Vidocq, which I hear is quite good. He made a name for himself as an effects supervisor on films such as Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Alien: Resurrection, and The Messenger. He probably should have stayed in that world, he displays a very amateurish style, or lack thereof. The editing is terrible, it is constantly cutting around, even during the quieter dialogue scenes where it is really not needed. The action and fight sequences are even worse, there is no point of reference, it is cutting and you aren't sure who is doing what. That works for some films if disorientation is the desired effect, but I don't think they really wanted that here. The effects work is shoddy at best. It is not terribly good looking, the seams are in full view. I don't always need the best effects, but a film of this high profile, the work should be much better.
Some of the situations are completely ridiculous. Things like climbing out onto a narrow ledge and stepping up on a window mounted air conditioner to save a cat is not a good idea. Some of the really bad lines like "It's overtime!" should not be used. The idea of matching up a kiss mark and lip marks on a glass is completely ridiculous. It is just a really silly movie.
I guess I should mention what I liked about it. I liked that it was so goofy, I could sit there and make fun of it. I also agree with what Roger Ebert said about it, "There are three good things about this movie. Halle Berry's face, Halle Berry's body, and Halle Berry's costume." Outside of that it was a waste. Not the worst film I've seen this year, but still pretty bad. Best thing I can say is to wait for the DVD and rent it, or at least for a second run theater.
Not Recommended.
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