But do any of us really watch superhero movies for the plot? The story, I’d argue, is truly secondary: You tune in more for the fight scenes, the delicious costumes, and the star power—and this 2000s flick truly had it all. I mean, can we talk about Berry’s modernized Catwoman costume, which was conceptualized by legendary costume designers Angus Strathie and Colleen Atwood? Diehard fans of the iconic DC Comics character felt Berry’s leather two-piece bra and pant was way too risqué, but I’ve always felt it was slick, modern, and totally badass. Berry said it best: “It was something different, but in our minds, why keep remaking Catwoman if you’re not going to take risks and bring something different to it? The beauty was that it was better suited for my version of her, my body, who I was, and my sensibilities.”
Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection
I understand staying true to the original, but how boring would it be if Berry’s Catwoman was simply a Michelle Pfeiffer 2.0? I stand with Berry, who took a creative risk, yet bore a lot of the negative criticism. “I didn’t love [the backlash],” said Berry. “Being a Black woman, I’m used to carrying negativity on my back, fighting, being a fish swimming upstream by myself. . . It wasn’t going to stop my world or derail me from doing what I love to do.”
If you take yourself out of the mindset that Catwoman needed to be true to the comics, you’ll open up yourself to the reality that it’s, in fact, a fun and campy standalone film. I mean, that scene where Berry walks up to a bar, in total leather costume, and orders a “White Russian—no ice, hold the vodka, hold the Kahlua”? Iconic. Or the way she repeatedly struts on top of rooftops, as though she’s walking on a high-fashion Paris catwalk? Meow.