Catwoman hardly arrives in this country trailing clouds of glory. In truth, it is not very good. But there are compensations for a screenplay that clunks and special effects that make Spider-Man II look like a classic. Rather, there is one: Halle Berry, a special effect in herself, dressed to kill in S&M leather and more beautiful dominatrix than revengeful pussycat.
The film is directed by French visual-effects wizard Pitof, who seems to think that a flashy pop-video style with an earsplitting soundtrack suffices to accompany Berry on her way from frumpy graphic designer to clawing kitty. But his efforts soon pall, and it is left to icy villainess Sharon Stone to fight Berry to the death in an over-the-top set-piece.
Stone plays the wife of cosmetics giant Lambert Wilson who decides that her designer has to be killed when she appears to be a whistle-blower on a new anti-age cream that does very nasty things to the skin. It's then that the hitherto frumpy Berry turns into a feline, prompted by a mysterious and evil Egyptian cat. Only Benjamin Bratt's honest cop understands the situation and loves the girl.
The film pursues its line with remorseless vulgarity but gathers some pace towards a conclusion that suggests there may be sequels to come. One hopes not - even Gothika was more fun than this. Berry and a rejuvenated Stone work very hard to transcend the rest of the proceedings.
Catwoman
Cert: cert12A
