Why I Saw It: As one of the worst-rated films of all time, it has quite a reputation. I almost felt left out by having not seen it. When AVENGERS was released, a movie reviewer friend of mine started discussions about peoples favorite MARVEL films, which expanded into discussions of films for DC characters. At that point, we compiled a list of all the films pertaining to DC comics, and as it turns out, I’ve seen almost all of them.

What Was It About? Not the same Catwoman as the one in any Batman movies, television shows, comic books or video games, that’s for sure. “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.” It almost sounds like Batman could be involved, right? He’s not. I knew that going in, so that’s not why I saw it… but you read that above, amiright?

Rating: 4.4 out of 10

Memorable Performances: I think I’ll probably never be able to forget Halle Berry’s involvement in this film. The same goes for Sharon Stone, and potentially even Benjamin Bratt. It was that painful.

Potential Nominations for Film Quest ’13:

Worst Film Of The Year

Favorite Parts: The basketball scene was decent. The final fight with Sharon Stone was alright… (sorry about the spoiler there, but seriously, they set it up fairly early in the film and it’s not like there’s a plot twist which actually helps redeem the film at all) The outfits she wore… nothing wrong there. And I almost liked the scene where she’s robbing a jewelry store. Then I noticed that the special effects were mostly terrible, as was the fight choreography. A big disappointment, when you think about it, because there was a fight scene in Tomb Raider, the original, which came out three years prior… and wasn’t produced by DC Comics. Perhaps the folks behind Catwoman should’ve picked someone to direct with a better resume than Vidocq, a French-language film from three years prior. And if they had tried to have a better director, and maybe that director read the script and backed out of the project… and maybe they should’ve taken the hint and re-written it.

The Regrettable Aspects: There are so many… The “transformative” scene, the crazy cat-lady who tells her all about the history of “catwomen”. I think there’s a better way to do this…

How Bad Is It?

It’s obviously a sub-par film, but how does it rank historically?

DC Films Worse Than Catwoman:

Jonah Hex

Superman III and Superman IV

League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen

(I probably could’ve included STEEL, Supergirl and the Swamp Thing movies, but I never saw them)

Other Non-DC Films Worse Than Catwoman:

Me, Myself & Irene

(I didn’t think Jim Carrey could do worse than the second Ace Ventura movie… and I was wrong)

(I didn’t think Jim Carrey could do worse than the second Ace Ventura movie… and I was wrong) How Do You Know?

(Reese Witherspoon is becoming something of an indicator for me…)

(Reese Witherspoon is becoming something of an indicator for me…) Tiny Furniture

(Lena Dunham’s rough draft prequel for GIRLS)

(Lena Dunham’s rough draft prequel for GIRLS) Bongwater

(you’d think I would’ve known, based on the name… but Luke Wilson & Jack Black were in it)

(you’d think I would’ve known, based on the name… but Luke Wilson & Jack Black were in it) Spread

(Ashton Kutcher made it sound quite a bit more interesting in his interviews)

(Ashton Kutcher made it sound quite a bit more interesting in his interviews) Boondock Saints II

(the unfortunate sequel to an awesome movie)

(the unfortunate sequel to an awesome movie) Punisher: War Zone

(over-the-top violence and a bad script and bad performances don’t mix well together)

(over-the-top violence and a bad script and bad performances don’t mix well together) Year One

(sooo many fun actors… such a terrible production)

(sooo many fun actors… such a terrible production) Dogtooth

(just don’t even waste your time looking it up. Some film festival people liked it, so I thought it would be good… but it took me three tries to get through it)

Would I watch it again? I would only watch it if there was some sort of drinking game involved or if a bunch of people just wanted to watch and make fun of how terrible it was.

To Whom Would I Recommend It? I’d only recommend it to people who are expecting a bad movie and wanted to continue working on their film-watching resume.

Other Recommendations: – Almost Anything Else (hence the lists above)

Next up, NOTORIOUS (1946).