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Catwoman (2004)

Catwoman
"You'll have to excuse the fondling and groping - I really have no control over my actions when I'm in heat like this."

Starring:

Halle Berry
Sharon Stone
Benjamin Bratt

Released By:

Warner Brothers

Released In:

2004

Rated:

PG-13

Reviewed By:

The Boneman

Grade:

D


Catwoman at it's best could be described as a 91 minute trailer for Catwoman 2 - which despite the critical hounding it will no doubt receive, is probably already in development. The ending scene made it abundantly clear that another hairball of a Catwoman film will inevitably be coughed up. That is, unless Halle Berry's people perceive this kitty litter to be too much of a threat to their Oscar-caliber client's career.

There are so many things wrong with the way this film unfolds that it's somewhat daunting to know where to begin. So I'll start with the one thing I did enjoy about the film and that was it's art direction, which shared the same sort of art-deco stylistic approach of the original Batman and even a trace of Dick Tracy (anybody remember that one?) But even this element of the film chased it's tail in circles - sometimes going for the bold primary color cartoonish sensibility of the past, and other times aiming at a Bladerunner-esque "talking-billboard" bleak and gritty futuristic slant. Obviously we're in the future, but the cars are the same and all the cops (except Benjamin Bratt) are running around in 50s garb and toting archaic six-shooters?

I realize that this is the sort of thing that most critics usually mention in passing toward the end of their reviews, but Catwoman is so painfully awful that I figured by postponing any mention of the film's laughable performances, stilted dialogue, awkward pacing and pointless nonsensical story-advancement, I might at least reduce my chances of offending P.E.T.A. supporters. I'll admit I'm a cat-person - I prefer their inscrutable, mysterious diffidence (I really do know what those words mean) to a dog's simple and obvious neediness, still (with all due apologies to Al Stewart) 2004 has not been "the year of the cat." Just as Garfield tarnished Bill Murray's Oscar-worthiness, Catwoman strands Halle Berry's vaunted acting chops way up a tree.

At first glance the basic premise of the plot showed promise, (Evil greedy cosmetic manufacture prepares to market a age-reversing beauty product that is addictive and in truth toxic and deadly--and turns you into a monstrous hag if you discontinue it's use). Halle plays a mousey graphic designer for the cosmetic magnate named Patience Phillips who innocently discovers this sinister wrinkle in the "wrinkle-reducing" wonder-cream and is rather callously rubbed out. But of course an ancient Egyptian cat has been grooming Halle as the next possible candidate as the new Catwoman in a long line of Catwomen and thus brings her back to life in order that she may exact her revenge upon all of these ne'r-do-wells and ultimately Sharon Stone who turns out to be the Avon Lady from Hell. Quite inexplicably, Sharon's habitual use of this product has somehow turned her into a bad-ass bitch of a martial artist who becomes the ultimate nemesis to Catwoman. A Toxic Avenger I guess you could say. What's new Pussycat?

Unfortunately the execution of said plot makes even the worst Power Puff Girls episode look like Citizen Kane. The way this film unfolds from scene to scene reminded me of a parlor game I've played a time or two where one person writes a sentence on a notepad then passes it to the next person who writes their sentence and after the paper gets passed around the room with everyone's incongruous contributions you read it and it's often rather amusing, and you all have a laugh freshen your drink and then move on to Pictionary.

The major flaw that undermines what might have been a fun little excuse to showcase Halle Berry's indisputable feline comeliness, is the fact that the actors don't seem to have been informed as to whether their performances are supposed to be campy or straight? Sharon Stone's basic instincts have abandoned her of late, and all of the other supporting players are stiffly drawn and, if anything, serve to weaken the proceedings. Benjamin Bratt, plays the conflicted cop who is on the hunt for the misunderstood Catwoman, who the media have falsely painted as a killer. Bratt, however, is already smitten by her alter-ego Patience. Ironically (I use the word lightly here) if you're going to make it through this Cat-astrophe, you're going to need more than patience, you're going to need a Lortab or two.

:: zBoneman.com Reader Comments ::

Nate

Nate

That was a truly inspired caption - luv the site.

Pitof-ull

Pitof-ull

Words fail me. I should have known where this movie was heading when I noticed that the name of the director of Catwoman is Pitof. Just the one name like Sting, Bono, Cher - well after watching this monumentally pointless piece of crap, I have a good last name for Pitof. That would be Ull.

Marion Whitman

Marion Whitman

The only thing that made going to Cat-box I mean Catwoman remotely worth the 7 bucks I shelled out was the fact that I got to see the trailer for the Exorcist prequel. I was wondering what the buzz is like on the film?

Directionless

Directionless

To Pitof-Ull - this director is actually named Jean-Christophe Comar, who goes by the moniker "Pitof." He is mostly known for his work in digital effects, and one thing the Boneman failed to criticize in his review is how bad the CGI effects are as well. The sequences in which Catwoman bounds through the city are on par with a low-budget video game, after seeing the effects in Spiderman I'm surprised they didn't shelf this embarassing train-wreck

Meow Mixed-up

Meow Mixed-up

It is possible that it could be scientifically proven that Halle Berry is the hottest human female alive today, but after this "look what the cat dragged in" excuse for a movie makes it more and more possible that her amazingly gutsy performace in Monster's Ball was a total fluke. Watching her strut about in leather is not a bad thing in and of itself - but a movie needs more than a few sexual innuendos and throaty purrs to keep us from taking a catnap. I can't believe that the Boneman failed to make fun of the Basketball scene - it has to be the stupidest thing I've ever scene in a movie.

Catnap

Catnap

I don't know if any actor or actress has been required to return their Oscar to the academy, but after seeing Halle Berry smear catnip all over her face in this catnap of a disaster - I wouldn't be surprised if her award is revoked.

Bill Cribb

Bill Cribb

Catwoman is so bad that I actually would recommend people go see it, just for the laughs - the basketball scene, the catnip, the sushi scene, good God Sharon Stone's petrified performance - it's enough to keep yyuo and your friends inside jokes for the rest of the summer.

sirdizzy (patrick)

sirdizzy (patrick)

there were several moments during catwoman I wanted to take my shoe off and throw it at the screen.The first time was when she did that puuuurrrrfect line, god that was annoying, another time she went meow and that was absurd and there is a scene when an alarm goes off and the cops show up 2 seconds later, they must have like phycic powers or something, because even had the police station been next door and there was a sign that read free donuts at the scene they couldn't have gotten there that fast - hell the abulance showed up 5 seconds later and they couldn't have possibly called because they couldn't have known they were going to need it.

The movie is just bad, and I had to wonder what the producers were thinking when they made this pile of trash. DC is being slaughtered by Marvel in what is becoming an over saturated market of comic book adaptations, by the time DC gets into the game the genre will have cooled off. Its a shame - DC has some good characters but for the most part their productions are black holes like the new Superman movie that appears like it will never get made. They should have never gone ahead with a movie about Catwman if they could not do it right with Selena Kyle as the character and it taking place in Gotham City, the fact that they didn't do this was the first bad sign.

Adam

Adam

Marion Whitman,

Hi there. The buzz on The Exorcist prequel is not particularly strong, but I agree, the trailer is effective. The journey for the film has been a long one. Paul Schrader (screenwriter of Taxi Driver) actually shot the film, but upon delivering his finished product to the studio, he was fired when WB suits claimed the movie wasn't scary enough. Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger) was then brought on to punch up the in your face horror element, but ultimately, he shot an entirely different film. I'm hearing that Schrader's version will most likely hit DVD as many fans are curious about it (none more so than me). Harlin's opens next month, and I must admit, the trailer offers up some pretty creepy imagery. In the end though, I'm more excited to see what Schrader's version is like.

Brody Jennings

Brody Jennings

The best thing about this movie is reading the Boneman take it apart and reading his great picture captions - next to Dennis Miller, he's the best when it comes to that art form

Catcrap

Catcrap

Not only does this film suck on every level you can possible imagine (I doubt you could get a cat interested in the tuna scene) But Catwoman was spawned by Batman, at least originally and has the nerve to steal the idea of a deadly cosmetic directly from the original Batman - that was the Joker's idea. Jack, if you're out there - stare 'em down. Go up to em and say Boo.

Nancy Mercer

Nancy Mercer

Catwoman was so bad it was almost worth seeing again. I can't believe nobody is making fun of that damn basketball scene. Here they are on their first date a smart cop and a meek little artist and she runs up the side of a wall and dunks on Bratt's ass. And he just walks away like, hmm she's got game? Good god, somebody help me out here?

The Boneman

The Boneman

Nancy, my deepest apologies, you're 100% right. I even reviewed that movie and forgot to mention that scene. It seriously was the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a film since it rained frogs in Magnolia. And I liked Magnolia.

Nathan Jensen

Nathan Jensen

All I have to say was it was a film produced to put Halle Berry in black leather, give her a whip and have her flaunt her good looks while making cat noises. I can't imagine anyone liking this but adolescent 14 year old boys. If you're looking for a real comic action movie, go see Spider-Man.

Paul Prince

Paul Prince

I like cats dont get me wrong and I like the idea of Halle Berry being the Catwoman. But after reading one critic diss after another I saw the movie anyway. I didn't regret seeing it, I just wished that there was more to see. The actions scenes could have been excellent but the director chopped and edited them to about 4.5 seconds long...and although Berry looks good in the CAT outfit and she does toy with her enemies well, I missed the whole relationship with BATMAN! Remeber in the comics are atleast in Batman Returns when it was fun to see Selina and Bruce growing a relationship, and then seeing Catwoman and Batman kick each other's ass!!! After this Catwoman I left the theater feeling like something the cat dragged out.

Blade Hunter

Blade Hunter

I saw the movie and thought it was great. I enjoyed every minute of it and really enjoyed Halle Berry's acting and in the costume, Nice.... Seems that people really want to bring Halle down after her Oscar win, I think she has great potential and I look forward to seeing the next Catwoman movie and other movies she does. I thought Brat was Cool and Stone was herself. All you Berry Haters Get off it! Blade Hunter

Preston Parks

Preston Parks

I waited to see this one in the bargain theater and boy am I glad, had I paid 9 bucks to get into this cat-box of a stinker I think I would have demanded my money back. As it was I was mad at the fact that I bought popcorn. I just can't imagine why more people arent making fun of that damn basketball scene. hands down the most absurd sequence in a major release perhaps ever. How this scene made it into the final cut is beyond my mortal powers of comprehension. Absolutely ridiculous. Let me begin the ridicule.

Ja Tool

Ja Tool

I see that Catwoman has finally made it to video, it should have happened straight away. Terrible terrible movie.

PatDiz

PatDiz

Patience Philips is a woman who can't seem to stop apologizing for her own existence. She works as a graphic designer for Hedare Beauty, a mammoth cosmetics company on the verge of releasing a revolutionary anti-aging product. When Patience inadvertently happens upon a dark secret her employer is hiding, she finds herself in the middle of a corporate conspiracy. What happens next changes Patience forever. When her employers find out that she is on their secret they have her killed and in a mystical twist of fate, she is transformed into a woman with the strength, speed, agility and ultra-keen senses of a cat. This is because an ancient Egyptian cat is the one that brought her back to life and transformed her into something old and new at the same time. With her newfound prowess and feline intuition, Patience becomes Catwoman, a sleek and stealthy creature balancing on the thin line between good and bad. Like any wildcat, she's dangerous, elusive and untamed. Her adventures are complicated by a burgeoning relationship with Tom Lone, a cop who has fallen for Patience but cannot shake his fascination with the mysterious Catwoman, who appears to be responsible for a string of crime sprees plaguing the city.

I am probably the easiest reviewer to sell a comic book adaptation too, as I love both comic books as well as my love for movies. So when you make a comic book movie so bad that even I hate and despise it, that's quite the accomplishment. Catwoman managed to do that, the movie is a pure atrocity at times and you have to wonder what the producers were thinking. When your movie is so bad you can't even use the real catwoman Selena Kyle and you have to make up your own character that is a horrible sign. And when you can't place the movie in Gotham City where it belongs again you are doing yourself a terrible injustice. Halle Berry is an incredible actor but she was just downright horrible in this movie, which is a shame. I can see why they cast her, because they wanted to toss some skintight leather outfit on her and get the teenage boys to flock to the movie. Halle Berry actually did a good job until they turned her into catwoman at this point the movie turned into a downward spiral of them seeing how bad they could make the film. There were scenes that if I had bought popcorn I would have tossed it at the screen (the purrrrrrfect line for example not only made me cringe but angered me at the same time). Now while Berry could probably excuse some of her bad performance on some pretty horrible screen writing, Sharon Stone on the other hand could not. Stone managed to be so bad on her own that you could not tell if it was the screen writing or her that was utterly mauling your senses. I have seen worse movies this year, for example King Arthur, but this movie manages to be as horrible as the trailers hinted it could be. Stay away.

catwman

catwman

salut sa va

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