Hathaway's Selina Kyle/Catwoman (SPOILERS)

[Silver Nemesis]

I liked Hathaway's performance and the character in general, but I do have one or two criticisms of the way she was portrayed in this film.

My biggest gripe was the way the cat-motif was presented as incidental. Certain villains have their monikers thrust upon them (Penguin, Two-Face, Man-Bat), while others consciously choose to adopt a particular theme (Riddler, Mad Hatter, Clock King). Selina Kyle falls into the latter category. She adopts the feline mantle because of her affinity for cats, similar to how Batman adopts the mantle of the bat because it is his totem. But there was no mention of this in TDKR. She didn't have the cowl, the whip or the claws. And I may be wrong, but I don't recall her even owning a pet cat. Was she even referred to as Catwoman? She may have been, but I don't think she was. Granted, this approach was somewhat similar to the first two or three Catwoman stories in the comics. But the character has evolved a good deal since then.

Bottom line, the cat theme should not be incidental any more than the bat theme should be for Bruce Wayne. Imagine if Wayne went out dressed like a generic ninja and people said "Hmm, he looks a bit like a bat – so let's call him Batman!" The bat is meant to symbolise something, and removing that symbolism undermines the psychological meaning behind the totem. The same applies to Selina Kyle and cats. So I wasn't happy with that aspect of the characterisation.

I didn't feel there was any real chemistry between Hathaway and Bale either, and the idea of them suddenly becoming an item towards the end of the film felt forced and abrupt. I also didn't see the point of the Jen character. Everyone assumed Juno Temple was going to play Holly Robinson, but she didn't. And her character just disappeared halfway through the film and was never mentioned again anyway. Seemed kind of pointless.

But there were a lot of things I liked about the character too. The costume looked better than I was expecting and was a nice homage to the sixties Catwoman. Her fight scenes were good too. In fact the fight scenes in this film in general were probably the best in any Batman film to date, both in terms of choreography and photography/editing. This is really the first time we've seen the Modern Age Catwoman depicted in live action, and Hathaway did a good job with the material.

I also liked the way they used Catwoman's thievery, and her sense of entitlement when taking from the rich, to illustrate the iniquity of socialism. She starts out sounding like a typical Occupy Wall Street protestor but gradually becomes disillusioned with that ideology when she sees it taken to extremes (the scene about somebody's home becoming everyone else's home was especially poignant).

So all in all, I thought it was a good depiction of Selina and an ok depiction of Catwoman. Not as good as Pfeiffer IMO, but still a solid performance from Hathaway.

What did everyone else think?

EDIT: I also felt a bit cheated that we didn't get a Batman vs Catwoman fight.

[Paul (ral)]

I thought she was great. Especially during her first encounter with Bruce...really nailed it in that scene.

I will post more thoughts later when I get onto my PC (on the phone at the minute)

[riddler]

I like it in the sense that the word 'catwoman' is never mentioned in the entire film so we're lead to believe it is likely a pre-catwoman selina kyle. Though that being said we see her domicile and there's not a single cat there. Some people have loosely dubbed it 'catwoman begins'

[BatmAngelus]

My biggest gripe was the way the cat-motif was presented as incidental. Certain villains have their monikers thrust upon them (Penguin, Two-Face, Man-Bat), while others consciously choose to adopt a particular theme (Riddler, Mad Hatter, Clock King). Selina Kyle falls into the latter category. She adopts the feline mantle because of her affinity for cats, similar to how Batman adopts the mantle of the bat because it is his totem. But there was no mention of this in TDKR. She didn't have the cowl, the whip or the claws. And I may be wrong, but I don't recall her even owning a pet cat. Was she even referred to as Catwoman? She may have been, but I don't think she was. Granted, this approach was somewhat similar to the first two or three Catwoman stories in the comics. But the character has evolved a good deal since then.

The closest she gets to being called Catwoman is the name "The Cat" in the newspapers that Bruce looks at in the Batcave.  Whether or not the nickname has anything to do with her costume was never explained.  I was amused/annoyed myself that after all of Nolan's explanations to justify Batman's suit, Ra's and the League of Shadows, Scarecrow's mask, Joker's appearance (well, the scars), Two-Face's origin, and Bane's mask, Selina just randomly has the mask/goggles and costume on, with no explanation whatsoever.

I didn't feel there was any real chemistry between Hathaway and Bale either, and the idea of them suddenly becoming an item towards the end of the film felt forced and abrupt.

Agreed.  The entire relationship was rushed and it was awkward, to me, for Bruce to even consider being with her considering that she stole his mother's pearl necklace and gave him up to Bane.

I also didn't see the point of the Jen character. Everyone assumed Juno Temple was going to play Holly Robinson, but she didn't. And her character just disappeared halfway through the film and was never mentioned again anyway. Seemed kind of pointless.

Agreed.  Also, I can't believe they didn't even give her the name Holly Robinson when it was clearly the same character!

Overall, I thought Hathaway's Selina/Catwoman was one of the best aspects of the movie, though a bit underused and underdeveloped since she kind of disappears in the middle of the movie.

[Kyle Grey]

I was pleased with Anne's Catwoman. Granted she was never called "Catwoman" as Nolan explained in a interview. And Anne did mention in a interview she did not have any scenes with any cats, thought she almost adopted a cat appearently while shooting.

I also feel the character was underused. I know for me I was expecting her to be a bigger character than she was. Not that she wasn't vital, but where as Michelle's pretty much outshined Penguin (even though he was the 'main villain'), Anne's character was more 'tamed' and stayed on the sidelines a bit more durring the movie.

Overall she was great in this version of the character; she was sly, sexy, and moved her body very well. Much better than Halle thats for sure, which btw...anyone notice she also said "cat got your toung?" Thought that was a lil funny stab/homage to the 'Catwoman' movie...if it was at all.

[Silver Nemesis]

Much better than Halle thats for sure, which btw...anyone notice she also said "cat got your toung?" Thought that was a lil funny stab/homage to the 'Catwoman' movie...if it was at all.

I noticed that too. It's pretty bad that her only onscreen acknowledgement of the cat motif was a one-liner stolen from the Halle Berry Catwoman film 

[Kyle Grey]

I know. That actually DID disapoint me that she wasn't "catty" enough. Where as Michelle was, but she was just soooo damn sexy about it! Like when she gave herself a "bath!" Not to mention she just exuberate sex appeal. Anne didn't do that for me. She had the attitude, and was very slinky and confident, but the sex was missing. Maybe I was spoiled seeing Michelle 20 years ago and in my mind, she IS THE Catwoman.

I was hoping that somewhere in the movie, she and Batman would have had a moment where she telling him something like "I was there you know, that night at Arkham..." Aluring to the fact of she witnessed when he called on all those bats as he escaped with Rachel. They had a very identical convorsation in Catwoman #94 (first series) where she tells him she saw him back durring the Year One story and was esstinally insipred by him and his bat motif, so she took on a cat motif. Buuuuuuut that didn't happen. 

[SilentEnigma]

Isn't "cat got your tongue" common slang in English speaking countries? I doubt they even aknowledge the existence of that... film. Pure coincidence.

[Silver Nemesis]

It's not just the line, it's the context. In both films its Catwoman appearing in costume for the first time, disarming an enemy in the middle of a fight and playfully asking "cat got your tongue?" while she holds them incapacitated. It may be a coincidence, but it's a similarity worth remarking on. Just like the "I'm Batman" line in Batman Begins. Some Nolan fans maintain it's coincidental, but the fact remains the same line was used in a similar context in the 89 film. And regardless of authorial intent, that parallel creates a connection between the two movies.

[SilentEnigma]

The similarity in "I'm Batman" was very obvious, because Wilkinson's dialogue that leads to it is almost the same: "What (the hell) are you?" Those that deny it simply can't get over their distaste for the 80/90s films. Their loss.

Also, it may sound subjective, but it's not:
Batman 89 is a comic book classic that influenced an entire genre. Catwoman is a piece of sh*t (sorry Paul, the Penguin uses that word too!) that should have never been made, and should be left to oblivion. As simple as that, you can't compare the influence of a classic with that of a cinematic failure that makes the Schumacher films look good! Seeing Halle Berry in "favourite Catwoman" polls in some sites was bad enough