DC Showcase: Catwoman

This loose follow up to "Batman: Year One" sees Selina Kyle well adjusted into her role as Catwoman, a morally ambiguous......well....it is not entirely clear WHAT her role is by this short film. She is supposed to be a thief, a cat burglar, but in this show she comes across as a sultry Batman wannabe. On a normal night of taking down thugs, Catwoman stumbles upon a familiar piece of jewelery which lands her in a drag out confrontation with the mob boss "Rough Cut".

Writer Paul Dini has managed to capture the essence of the Catwoman comic books. Sadly, even the best Catwoman comics tend to be "second stringers" particularly to Batman stories from which Catwoman spun off from. It is a very straight forward story, almost clichéd in its execution and sparse in character development. Catwoman is portrayed more as a straight up reluctant defender of the downtrodden than the multi faceted, morally ambiguous, part criminal in the comics.

While the acting is superb, the script is nothing special. John Dimaggio does Brooklyn Marcus Fenix impression for Rough Cut. But despite his awesome performance, the character is no more than a shallow bruiser boss. Once again, the main complaint goes to how short the Dc showcase films are.

Visually however, this DC showcase is as beautiful as Selina Kyle herself. The level of detail in the art is on par with many Japanese anime OVAs and the character designs retain that sultry sexuality we can expect from Catwoman comics. The actual animation however borders on the mediocre. It is no smoother than an average OVA or high budget TV series. Seems that most of the time and effort went into one of the most beautifully animated pole dance sequences in the history of animation (japanese or otherwise). That sequence had an almost rotoscoped quality to it. Exceedingly smooth and uncannily lifelike.

More time could have been spent actually developing the main character. Compared to previous Dc showcase short films like Jonah Hex and The Spectre which delved into the characters' motivations, thoughts and inner personality, Catwoman seems more like a trivial "day in the life of" one shot. It looks great, it feels great, but there could have been more substance to back up the appearance.

I liked that it was more action then story because action is cool. Also cool that she didn't do anything evil this time. Its not confusing at all and I highly recommend it to anyone who like action stuff.

Warner Brothers deliver yet another DC Showcase, this time about Catwoman who is by far the most well known of the hero choices thus far.

It tells the short story of Catwoman in pursuit of Rough Cut who appears to be smuggling more than just diamonds this time.

Fluid, action packed and well paced this is everything a short should be.

I'm a fan of Dushku but I question how much she was paid for this 14 minute short considering she speaks about 3 lines total!

Good stuff.

The Good:

Very well animated

Eliza Dushku

The Bad:

Very little dialogue yet has an expensive voice cast

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Kevin Michael Richardson needs to learn some new voices

Essentially one long action scene, 'Catwoman (2011)' is a loose follow-up to 'Batman: Year One (2011)' entirely focused on its eponymous anti-hero as she faces off against a smuggling ring. The picture is fast-paced and exciting, featuring several well-animated fights and chases. It's enjoyable right from the start. The only element which feels somewhat forced is a protracted strip tease that sees the protagonist distract her foes before pulling out her signature whip. It isn't a bad sequence, but it's obviously only included for the sake of titillation and, as such, feels unnecessary (even if it does reveal something about the lead character's willingness to embrace her sexuality as a tool to tackle the patriarchy). Though it isn't all that deep, the flick is fun and well-conceived. It's actually fairly memorable, too. 7/10

A rather simple fifth DC Showcase, entertaining at times and with a decent reflective message. Now it's time to present the character of Catwoman in more depth, as a continuation of the movie "Batman: Year One," adding some quite interesting details about this version of the cat.

Lauren Montgomery returns with her great potential, love, and affection for the characters of the publishing house. Honestly, the director knows what happened, leaving a quite memorable animated universe in high regard. Their presence in every production is admirable.

The short film has an outstanding quality in animation, with a brutal fluidity of movement, a dark color palette that enhances the story being told, and a strong connection to the style that represents Catwoman. The lines drawn in my home speak for themselves. The action scenes are very well executed with a high level of detail in every movement. A simple yet decent soundtrack.

The short emphasizes love, care, and protection for our loved ones, doing everything within our power to find them and save them from danger. Furthermore, it involves justice with extreme, bold, and not-so-common measures. The streets of Gotham are a representation of smuggling, danger, death, and complicity.

I find the character design quite good. Selina Kyle has some enhancements compared to the aforementioned movie, being visually appealing, beautiful, and very sexy. Our villain Rough Cut is quite impressive, although it could have been executed better and had more combat moments.

For now, it's the DC Showcase with the lowest rating, but that doesn't mean it's bad. He/She deserves a chance.

Of course, I would also like a dance with Catwoman.