Catwoman

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By Todd Karella
July 23, 2004

Original Story Synopsis:

Movie-Pix Best Guess:

Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) works for huge cosmetic company Hedare Beauty, which is on the verge of creating a product that will cancel the effects of aging. When Patience discovers some unsuspected side effects, she is murdered in order to keep her quiet.

Miraculously she awakens with the abilities of a cat and seeks revenge upon her murderer, walking a fine line between good and evil.

Most people are familiar with Catwoman from the Batman series. Unfortunately, this is not the same Catwoman. It's never a good idea to start a film with such an obvious misrepresentation.

From the current previews it comes across as a cheesy S&M film, with big-name stars. A child could make a better Halloween costume than what Halle is wearing.

Why even bother with the charade of a plot. If you want Halle Berry and Sharon Stone to fight, put them in thongs and have them Jell-o wrestle. That's got to be more entertaining than what this movie looks to be.

Possibly the number one contender for worst movie of the year.

PG-13

~Better than it looks ~

Movie-Pix Hit or Miss

Best Guess results:

When Movie-Pix makes a mistake, we're not afraid to admit it.

We're not sure what happened with this film. The trailers for it looked terrible, but it actually was a decent film.

There could have been more action, but the biggest complaint is the CGI graphics which looked terrible. It was blatantly obvious when it was Halle versus the digital recreation.

While not one of the best films out there it certainly wasn't the worst.

While the previews for this film made it look like the worst movie ever made, it may have actually been a good thing.
   Whenever you expect a film to be terrible and it's not nearly as bad as expected it can change a bad movie into an okay one.
    And that's exactly what Catwoman is, an okay movie.
   Loosely based on the original Catwoman from the Batman comic books, this version follows the life of Patience Phillips (Halle

Berry) a meek and timid woman who works for a large cosmetic company.
Hedare is about to release their newest beauty cream that works miracles removing all signs of aging.

Patience is working in the graphic arts department and is responsible for designing the graphics for the release of the new wonder product.
   Having to redo the entire design at the last moment and return the work late at night, she accidentally stumbles into a private conversation,
   The new beauty cream is having horrible side effects on those with prolonged exposure and permanently scarring them.
   Before she can leave Patience is discovered and security makes sure that she doesn't escape with the secret. When she tries to escape through the sewer system, the tunnels are flooded and she drowns.

Patience Phillips-Halle Berry

Laurel Hedare-Sharon Stone

Tom Lone-Benjamin Bratt
Patience Phillips-Halle Berry

The vulcan mind meld

Your lips say no, but your eyes say yes

Oops, I ripped my pants

Fortunately, she had been kind to a cat earlier in the film and it comes back to return the favor. Breathing life back into her body the cat changes her into something different. She is now Catwoman.
   At first she doesn't realize what has happened to her, but as she continues to exhibit strange cat-like behavior she slowly begins to discover her new identity.
   While the original Catwoman walked the line between good and evil, Patience walks more along the side of good.
   Before she realizes what she has become she does a few illegal things, but immediately fixes the problem when she comes to her senses.
   Her quick moral detour attracts the attention of Officer Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt). Not only is he tracking Catwoman, but he also happens to have fallen for Patience.
   The two begin to flirt with one another even when she turns into her alter ego. Of course, he doesn't recognize her in the costume but that's typical in the comics.

As Patience comes to term with her new abilities, she begins to have memory flashbacks of the night she died.
Finding the connection between her death and Hedare Beauty, she begins to snoop around the offices.
The more she searches the closer to the truth she gets. Laurel Hedare (Sharon Stone) hates her husband as she sees him pushing her aside for a younger woman. She knows the truth behind the cosmetic and about one other side effect if you continue using the product.

Using Catwoman as a scapegoat, Laurel kills her husband and blames it on her.
Catwoman then must not only stop the product from being shipped, but also needs to clear her name.
The ending is rather predictable as it

comes to a showdown between the women.
   The action scenes are far and few in between and when they do occur, the CGI effects are terrible.
   The digital animation looks cartoon-ish and when you animate a real person it just doesn't work
   If you're still interested in seeing this film then you should wait until

it comes out on video.