Catwoman Review
by Bob Bloom (bob AT bloomink DOT com)July 26th, 2004
CATWOMAN (2004) 1 out of 4. Starring Halle Berry, Benjamin Bratt, Lambert Wilson,
Sharon Stone and Frances Conroy. Music by Klaus Badelt. Based on a character created by Bob Kane. Story by John Brancato & Michael Ferris and Theresa Rebeck.
Screenplay by John Brancato & Michael Ferris and John Rogers. Directed by Pitof.
Rated PG-13. Running time: Approx. 105 mins.
Highlighted by a body-tight, revealing black leather outfit, stiletto heels and
whip-cracking protagonist, Catwoman should be a fantasy fest enjoyed by every fetishist and dominatrix in the country.
The feature is one long dirty joke, 105 minutes of sexual innuendo and imagery that
teases but never delivers. It's almost like watching a full-length peep show.
Like many contemporary movies, the super-quick cutting is reminiscent of recent TV
commercials, which is apropos, since that is where director Pitof got his start. He
also has worked in graphic designing and digital visual effects, which explains why
Catwoman is at least interesting to look at.
Catwoman is stereotypical summer movie escapism, set in a generic city filled with
generic people. No sense of place or time.
Voyeurs will delight in the many close-ups of Halle Berry in her Catwoman outfit. Pitof
has a fondness for her derriere, zooming in as his star sashays throughout the film.
It is kinkiness on an adolescent level.
And of course Pitof can't resist the slugfest between Berry and villain Sharon Stone.
Berry comes across better in her civilian guise of Patience Phillips, a meek artist
transformed into Catwoman after discovering a terrible secret about a new woman's
skin-care product that is about to be unveiled.
Through some sort of Egyptian theology and mysticism she is resurrected and transformed into the whip-wielding human feline, acquiring some rather extraordinary powers in the process.
No great demands are made on the cast; the stunt people and special effects team
deserve most of the credit.
At the preview screening it was the women and young men who yelled and cheered
the loudest, loving the idea of a butt-kicking female hero.
Catwoman fits neatly into the guilty pleasure category of mindless diversion. It's
crass and loud.
And while it is not a catastrophe, If this movie franchise thought it had nine lives,
about seven of them were wasted on this initial outing.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be
reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com or at the Internet Movie Database Web site:
www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
