Well, for you, dear friends, I made a leap, and I watched a movie that I would have never seen otherwise—Catwoman. My dedication to exploring all things super heroic in non-comic media has made me a soldier in war of outlandish entertainment!
With the dismal reviews, the Razzy, and the “ooh, cooties” reactions from everyone I asked about this film, I expected this movie to stink like week old trash. It didn’t. Catwoman was entertaining, reasonably well written, stylishly directed, and the actors clearly didn’t just phone it in. Catwoman’s message was very female-empowering, and Halle Barry was sort of charming in the role. The dialogue was reasonably sharp, and some of the imagery was quite exciting.
So, given all this, why was the movie a flop? I don’t know. I think most people condemned it without seeing it, and simply avoided having to formulate their own opinions. Maybe it was because its star was an Academy Award winning actress, and this was seen as exploitative and cashing a big check. Maybe the small but vocal group of fanboys was angry because this movie didn’t represent the Catwoman of DC Comics—Credits listed “Based on characters created by Bob Kane,” but any similarities between Selina Kyle and Halle Barry’s Catwoman were superficial.
Am I saying the movie was perfect? Clearly not. There was an awful lot computer generated Catwoman jumping around, and the CG version of the character appeared to lack mass and weight. (Of course, Jim Balant’s version of Catwoman always seemed immune to gravity as well.) Most of the characters played to well-known stereotypes, too: Sheryl Stone as the evil corporate villainess; Benjamin Bratt as the too-good-to-be-true detective/love interest; Alex Borstien as the loud but loveable, pudgy best friend; Etc. There were no real surprises here, to be honest.
So, I’m going to vote against the prevailing opinion and give Catwoman a solid B-. Will this make me more popular as a reviewer? Undoubtedly not. But, if I can’t be honest in my appraisals, why bother to do this?
Scott.
