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Catwoman
- Review Date: January 17, 2005
- PG-13
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- 2004
Common Sense Media says
This movie is kitty litter.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that despite the lack of profanity and nudity, Catwoman will scare younger viewers with its dark feel, peril and adult themes. There is a pervasive sensuality to all scenes featuring Catwoman and there is a scene of implied sex as well as references to adultery. Several characters die and there are numerous scenes of peril, including a child trapped on a broken ferris wheel. Anyone who has seen the ads featuring the very suggestive leather suit and whip that that the protagonist wears will be aware of the "fantasy" element of Catwoman's character.
What's the story?
Based on the comic book character, CATWOMAN centers on Patience Philips (Halle Berry), a sweet and frumpy advertising designer at the Hedare's cosmetics company. Everything changes when Patience discovers that the Hedare's new facial cream is an addictive drug with skin-warping damage for any who would try to break the habit. Clearly, Patience must be gotten rid of, but little do the Hedare henchmen know that when they kill her they are only awakening a vengeful, fish-eating leather fetishist who really knows how to fight in stiletto heels. Co, Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt) develops feelings for the daytime Patience, and an allergy to her nightly alter-ego, Catwoman. Patience's guide to her new life is the cat lover, Ophelia (Frances Conroy), who introduces her to both catnip and the hefty history of her new identity. It turns out that all women have two sides and for certain special females, getting in touch with their inner feline allows them to un-cage a panther.
Is it any good?
Awkward and clumsy as a cat in high heels, this version of the comic book character Catwoman does not have enough to sustain one life, much less nine. The plot is thin and the script and editing have an unfinished, even inept feel. Berry seems to confuse a cat walk with a catwalk, prancing in heels as though she is an unusually busty runway model in next year's dominatrix fashion show. There's something hypocritical at best and absurd at worst to pretend to be about empowerment and freeing women from the need to conform to narrow standards of youth and beauty when the movie's heroine looks like Catwoman Barbie at a goth B&D rally.
One of the largest hairballs that choke this movie is the complete inability of Laurel Hedare (Sharon Stone) to be suitably over-the-top enough to make the final catfight memorable. In costume crusader stories, the bad guys have to be just as fantastic in their own way as their counterparts, even when they are fighting morally ambiguous, prowling kitties like Catwoman.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the twin-nature theme that runs throughout the movie. Why might many comic book characters, including Catwoman, have such strong dichotomous characters? What does this mean about their ability to express their "true selves" in their ordinary lives? Ophelia discusses seemingly contradictory traits that she describes as female, yet she herself does not seem to wear a mask. How might Ophelia and other characters express themselves fully without splitting their personalities so dramatically? Why did they pick the name "Ophelia," associated with Hamlet's tragic love?
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AGE
Wow, did this one stink
I felt...almost honored to watch this movie. Truly, a movie so very bad must be a work of art. I mean, it takes talent to make a movie this incredibly heinous. I was absolutely stunned that anyone could create such a piece of trash, and watched the movie with a sort of fascinated horror. Don't watch this movie unless you're trying to torture yourself. Go do something useful. Like watched grass grow.
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AGE
if this movie was $1 2 rent i still wouldn't rent it
i rented this movie because i was excpecting like a x-men movie or elektra or somethin like that.......but what i got was the worst marvel movie ever made.....if it weren't for the hulk this would be the worst super hero movie ever.....in other words it stinks!!!
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AGE
One of the 5 Worst Movies Ever
I don't know why there are any positive kid reviews for this movie at all. It was truly horrible, awful, and every other bad adjective ever put in a dictinary. It was so bad that it was hilarious, and actually more funny than many comedies that have ever been made. Not on purpose, of course. Do not listen to the few positive reviews, because I do not know what those people were thinking. This movie has horrible acting, directing, special effects, and is unbearably cheesy. DONT SEE IT!
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AGE
One and a half hours of your life down the drain.
It's so bad, people can use it to torture prisoners. Everything about this film is bad. Well, except for the costume design. That's IT. All this film is good for is its frickin' COSTUME DESIGN. Looks like somebody spent a little too much money on the COSTUME DESIGN and didn't want to spend money on a GOOD SCRIPT or a GOOD DIRECTOR. This film's not for kids. It's not even for people with at least one brain cell. (Unless they're prisoners.) Here's what to do instead of watching Catwoman: Rent Batman Returns. Watch. Enjoy Michelle Pfeiffer's awesome performance. End of story.
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AGE
This thing is kitty litter
Have you ever wanted to wanted to see a terrible chick flick, I never have. This movie is terrible. It starts off okay and then turns into the bigest hunk of a tird there is. It is an iffy movie. Dont waste your valuable time watchin this.
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AGE
Mild in it's rating bracket, nice stunts
Speaking from the opinion of someone who doesn't get particularly attached to movies based off of American comics, I think this is a very good movie. I haven't seen all of the movies which Catwoman is portrayed in, but Halle Barry (sp?) fit the character well in my mind. I'm not saying it's a remarkable film, but I found it enjoyable - I don't see why people keep making a big deal over Catwoman's outfit: it's not THAT risque, and it's the essence of the character to act the way she does.
As to the rating, I think I watched it when I was 12 and had no problems; the violence is mostly surface, little blood, the most disgruntling part is likely when one woman falls from a window and it is shown how she landed; mild cursing, mostly stuff pre-teens already know, no f-bomb or anything like that. There's one scene where it's implied that two of the characters have sex, but it's dark and there's no nudity, mostly just kissing then it fades out; other than that there's innuendo throughout the movie.
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AGE
Cat-tastic!
It may not be for a kid my age, but I love this movie (because i like cats) And because i thought it had a pretty great storyline!
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| Topics: | superheroes |
| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Director: | Pitof |
| Cast: | Benjamin Bratt, Halle Berry, Sharon Stone |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Run time: | 90 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 23, 2004 |
| DVD release date: | January 18, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | action violence and some sensuality |
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