Plot
A shy woman, endowed with the speed, reflexes, and senses of a cat, walks a thin line between criminal and hero, even as a detective doggedly pursues her, fascinated by both of her personas.

Release Year: 2004

Rating: 3.2/10 (47,098 voted)

Critic's Score: 27/100

Director: Pitof

Stars: Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Benjamin Bratt

Storyline
Catwoman is the story of shy, sensitive artist Patience Philips, 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. In a mystical twist of fate, she is transformed into a woman with the strength, speed, agility and ultra-keen senses of a cat. 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...

Writers: Bob Kane, Theresa Rebeck

Cast:
Halle Berry - Patience Phillips / Catwoman
Benjamin Bratt - Tom Lone
Sharon Stone - Laurel Hedare
Lambert Wilson - George Hedare
Frances Conroy - Ophelia
Alex Borstein - Sally
Michael Massee - Armando
Byron Mann - Wesley
Kim Smith - Drina
Christopher Heyerdahl - Rocker
Peter Wingfield - Dr. Ivan Slavicky
Berend McKenzie - Lance
Chase Nelson-Murray - Kid #1
Manny Petruzzelli - Kid #2
Harley Reiner - Kid #3

Taglines: CATch Her In IMAX

Official Website: Warner Bros [France] | Warner Bros. |

Release Date: 23 July 2004

Filming Locations: 4th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $17,155,000 (USA) (23 July 2004) (3 Screens)

Gross: $82,102,379 (Worldwide)

Runtime: 104 min  | Canada: 87 min (Ontario)

Trivia:
A newspaper reported that Sharon Stone's cell phone rang in the middle of filming a scene and Stone took the call, holding up filming for a time.

Goofs:
Factual errors: Ever go by a jewelry store at night? Ever see jewelry in the window? No? That's because insurance companies make them take all of the good stuff out of the windows and the display cases and store them in the safe until the next day, when they are put back on display. Which means there could be no burglary as depicted in the movie.

Quotes:
[first lines]
Catwoman: [voiceover] It all started on the day that I died. If there had been an obituary, it would have described the unremarkable life of an unremarkable woman, survived by no one. But there was no obituary, because the day that I died was also the day I started to live. But that comes later. This was my life. Days blended together, consistently ordinary, thanks to a job that was the practical version of my passion. I was supposed to be an artist by now. Instead, I was designing ads for beauty cream.

I will never understand...

Rating: 2/10

...how movies like this get rushed into theaters.

I honestly believe that when the idea of a Catwoman movie came across someone's desk several years back, it was a good idea. Unfortunately what turned up in theaters in 2004 was this mess! Having never picked up a Catwoman comic book, I cannot judge the film on that background. Knowing only of the old Batman TV show from the 60's, the 90's Cartoon and the brilliant portrayal by Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton's exceptional Batman Returns in 1992. That's all I really have to go on.

However, this 2004 update on the character is flawed. Halle Berry is awkwardly cast as the lead. Her screen presence was boring and lacked any real motivation.

With 3 writers, it is no wonder the story goes in all directions, never sticking to one line for too long. It is disjointed and incomplete. It almost seems the script was written just to have CGI fight sequences and Berry in that silly (though hot) costume! Pitof, as director strings together a film that has no real entertainment value. Though many scenes are shot beautifully, I do not see where he treated the character of Catwoman as the focal point. It just seems like he was making a movie - nothing more nothing less.

All in all the film is bland. Trite. Scripted weakly. Sloppily acted. Well, you get the idea.

Long live the days when Michelle Pfeiffer wore the Catwoman costume. She truly demonstrated the characteristics of a true Feline Femme Fatale. She holds ranks with the women that have portrayed Catwoman - Berry, though I love her, does not! 2 out of 10

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