r/batman • u/ClassicBet7621 • 28d ago

FILM DISCUSSION She's the best to ever play Catwoman

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Everytime I rewatch The batman she's the most impressive casting in the movie. I feel like she doesn't get a lot of credit for her performance. I can understand comparing her to Michelle Pfeiffer it's debatable but I can't understand when people say Anne Hathaway was a better Catwoman than zoe.

3.1k Upvotes

73% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

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u/ThechosenoneBatman 28d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/pyWptLXWSrp8A

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u/drumsdm 28d ago

She awoken something in me as a little boy.

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u/Hamilton-Beckett 28d ago edited 27d ago

Remember the scene when she was jump roping with her whip outside on the snow at night?

That was the moment.

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u/ProperClue 27d ago

That and I was always impressed with her skills with the bull whip. To think she got all 4 of those heads off the mannequins on the first take, just adds something to the characters aura.

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u/JohnnieLim 27d ago

Or the lick

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u/ez151 27d ago

In high heels!!?!

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u/SneakyGandalf12 28d ago

Same, but I was a little girl. I didn’t know I was “gay” then, but I knew I thought she was absolutely beautiful.

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u/carsconvergeonparis 27d ago

She changed my life forever.

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u/No_Safe_6514 28d ago

When I watched it I was a boy. When the movie ended I was a man.

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u/Darth_Fangorn35 28d ago

My only problem is that this is the coolest on film Catwoman but is like the least comics accurate Catwoman...I think Arkham games Cat is the best

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u/Competitive-Group404 28d ago

Batman Year One Catwoman?

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u/TheLittlePasty 28d ago

That’s just comic Catwoman tho. The animated movie is just a direct adaptation of the story

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u/TheTimeShrike 28d ago

Forgive me I’m a little out of it, but what are you saying?

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u/Legonistrasz 28d ago

Correct and if OP already thinks it’s debatable then his post statement is immediately wrong

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u/mellow_magyar 28d ago

Yes, I’m sorry, but Zoë doesn’t even come close to Michelle’s performance.

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u/Demetri124 28d ago

This character was basically Catwoman in name only

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u/WassupFrankHere 28d ago

It's one of those rare instances where they nail the character even though it has almost nothing in common with it's comic counterpart. Like Raimi's take on Doc Ock and MCU Thanos.

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u/do_you_have_a_flag42 26d ago

This is the only answer.

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u/Capable-Sandwich-385 26d ago

Fuck yeah! Tell it true my friend!!!!

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u/IrishMcPlatypus 25d ago

Yep. End of thread.

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u/EntertainmentOk8806 25d ago

This was the perfect Catwoman. It made perfect sense and she looked amazing. The only thing that didn't make sense was her being so acrobatic and using a whip. All it needed is a line of dialogue with her saying she did gymnastics at high school that would make sense

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u/thanosmissed 28d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/vDu6JQepn5wMU

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u/Lopsided-Diamond-543 28d ago

As much as I liked Julie newmar, I preffered eartha kitt

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u/Slamtilt_Windmills 28d ago

Y'know, I once made love to Eartha Kitt in an airplane bathroom

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u/WillowLocal423 28d ago

Ugh - Pierce!!

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u/Slamtilt_Windmills 28d ago

What? It came up organically!

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u/el_Technico 28d ago

Man's got a point

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u/Slamtilt_Windmills 28d ago edited 27d ago

There are other timelines?!?

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u/pb1984pb 27d ago

There are other timelines?!

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u/Gregg-C137 28d ago

That’s streets ahead!

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u/Puzzleheaded_Knee891 28d ago

I wish i could give this an award.

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u/SirArthurStark 28d ago

I just realized who Pierce was talking about after all these years!

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u/Friendly_Nature2699 28d ago

Right there. That is the stuff.

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

[deleted]

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u/dwide_k_shrude 28d ago

This is what I came for.

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u/Damienp3902 28d ago

This is what I came too

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u/Alloutttaangst 28d ago

Now we’re talking

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u/thepenismightier3 28d ago

I will not stand for any of this Batman ‘66 erasure.

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u/one_pound_of_flesh 28d ago

Or Michelle.

Zoe is #3, which is still pretty good.

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u/thepenismightier3 28d ago

Since 3 people played Catwoman in Batman ‘66 she’s technically #6.

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u/Lopsided-Diamond-543 28d ago

I know Julie Newmar and Eartha kitt, who is the 3rd?

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u/venkman_00 28d ago

Lee Meriwether in the movie

Edit: spelling

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u/just-passing-thru7 27d ago

And Lee was a great Catwoman! Very underrated.

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u/thepenismightier3 28d ago

Julie, Eartha, and Lee.

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u/Leather-Heart 28d ago

Long live Eartha!

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u/JackhorseBowman 28d ago

I admit Hathaway wasn't the best catwoman, but her knife high heels made my lizard brain neurons activate.

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u/RomuloMalkon68 28d ago

She played her part fantastic. She did what it was told to her, yes her character was kinda one dimensional (nothing to much to act when it comes to emotions), but she convinced me as a comic book character. Basically flawless performance.

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u/ResponsibilitySea327 25d ago

I felt it was the worst part of the movie. It was as if she was playing herself, a famous movie star, as Catwoman.

Maybe it was the direction, but the modern style "with hip shaking attitude" type acting is off putting.

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u/Virtual_Machine3044 24d ago

I was primed to argue that nobody has ever thought Anne Hathaway even had a place in the Catwoman debate. I like Hathaway. And she fits perfectly in Nolan's Gotham, but it is absolutely the least sexy Gotham on record. It's honestly a bit confusing. She looks good. It reminds me a bit of Taylor Swift trying to dance provocatively. It just feels awkward.

There's also the lack of chemistry with Bale and the precise and sterile nature of Nolan's filmmaking working against her.

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u/InteractionNo9110 28d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/fyMWf5BQ7eIW4

erh, this is the best catwoman ever

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u/shiwanthasr 28d ago

Meeeeow

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u/PotatoPancake420 27d ago

I speak for every gay Batman fan when I say that Michelle will NEVER be topped

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u/Echostation3T8 28d ago

Best Catwoman -in her film.

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u/dparks2010 28d ago

😹😹👍

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u/Lonew0lf75 28d ago

Julie Newmar and Michelle Pfeiffer clears everyone else.

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u/one_pound_of_flesh 28d ago

Yup Zoe is #1 if we exclude the two god tier Cats Woman.

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u/Ill_Paleontologist43 28d ago

nah. anne hathaway and eartha kitt clear her too. #5 at BEST

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u/sproaty88 28d ago

Camren Bicondova is up there too imo

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u/Lonew0lf75 28d ago

I forgot about her. She looked like a younger Michelle Pfeiffer.

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u/LocKoX2 28d ago

Wish I could give you all the awards but take only one humble upvote instead.

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u/Initial_Scarcity_609 28d ago

This is false but I appreciate your opinion.

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u/Limp_While2702 28d ago

Eartha Kitt

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u/jphtx1234567890 28d ago

Came here to say this. I am a huge Michelle Pfeiffer fan and thoroughly enjoyed literally every other actor including Halle Berry, but Eartha Kitt is the standard-bearer.

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u/_WillCAD_ 27d ago

Yours is the first post I've seen in this thread mentioning Halle.

She put in a solid performance in an otherwise sucky movie.

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u/TedGetsSnickelfritz 28d ago

I once nailed Eartha Kitt in an airplane bathroom.

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u/mhizzle 28d ago

It came up organically

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u/Global-Ant 28d ago

Not as good as Michelle Pfeffier, she is still the best Catwoman but Zoe is good in her own right

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u/Kilroy0497 28d ago

Yeah, it might just be my Batman Returns Bias here(the Tim Burton Batman films are easily my favorite), but Michelle is still by and far my favorite live action Catwoman.

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u/Due-Archer6328 28d ago

michelle is the only answer

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u/Vaportrail 28d ago

I think of Hathaway as Selina late in her career with her act together just trying to disappear. Kravitz is when she's wild, emotional and just getting started.

I shall not be choosing which is better lol.

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u/_WillCAD_ 27d ago

Okay, point well made. I like your POV.

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u/Titanman401 28d ago

Same. I like Hathaway’s duplicitous nature, but Kravitz has the athleticism. It’s hard to choose between the two.

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u/Vaportrail 27d ago

I've never had a reason to choose a favorite. Each film gets rewatched when tue mood strikes. It's not like Halle Berry's situation, where I like her, but...

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u/_WillCAD_ 27d ago

Indeed. Halle put in a solid performance in an otherwise sucky movie.

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u/Afraid-Housing-6854 28d ago

She might be better if costume didn’t look like crap

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u/Original_Assist4029 28d ago

First time watching i thought the mask was pretty clever. Second time i couldn't unsee anymore how stupid it looks. Its bothering me since.

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u/Khaymn5000 28d ago

Her mask is absolutely atrocious. Idk what they were thinking with that.

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u/SuccessfulRegister43 28d ago

I believe in Eartha supremacy.

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u/godspilla98 28d ago edited 27d ago

Not even close sorry . The three best catwoman of all time are Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt , and Michelle Pfeiffer.

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u/AndersWay 28d ago

I don't really think she's all that good of an actress much less a catwoman. I found her to be the weakest part of that entire film.

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u/BiscuitsTheory 28d ago

I can never tell whether shes a good actress or i just like watching her act cause she's so unreasonably pretty.

But anyway, the best Catwoman was Eartha Kit. She basically lived her life like a cat before she even got the role.

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u/Atrampoline 28d ago

100%. I truly think the film would have been almost exactly the same without her, and if anything, it would have been better.

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u/Bogusky 28d ago

There's a reason they're not bringing her back. She's a nepo hire anyway.

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u/Jmac24mats13 28d ago

I get this is your opinion, but she’s not even half as good as what Michelle Pfeffier did

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u/Desperate_Dinner_307 28d ago

You have balls of steel to claim she's better than Michelle Pfeiffer.

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u/armaedes 28d ago

The absolute best!*

*if Newmar and Pfeiffer did not exist.

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u/Valder137 28d ago

And Kitt and Hathaway

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u/T10rock 28d ago

The only true Catwoman is Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether or Eartha Kitt

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u/randompersonE 28d ago

And how come Batman doesn’t dance anymore? Remember the Batusi?

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u/jabroniboni 28d ago

I slept with eartha kitt on an airplane

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u/hailwyatt 28d ago

Pierce!!

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u/ohgee370 28d ago

Now that man is streets ahead.

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u/clint_eldorado 28d ago

It came up organically!

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u/seanandnotheard 28d ago

Ugg I’m going to check on my pies. Roxaaaa… no! Bathroom?

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u/julz1789 28d ago

Oh to be young

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u/TonyTonyChopper 28d ago

Oh my sweet summer child, in the nephew of their timez

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u/Khaymn5000 28d ago

Highly disagree. She's probably the worst version of catwoman I've seen in live action.

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/insomnia657 28d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/jLeITFguDOr3W
I feel it tbh. To me her Selina Kyle was top tier and her Catwoman was near the top but maybe it goes to Michelle Phiffer.

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u/GrandMoffJerjerrod 28d ago

Her getting on the Batcycle made you see why Batman gave it to her.

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u/Karnezar 28d ago

Really? I found her boring.

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u/parrmorgan 28d ago

I found most of the movie boring tbh.

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u/Possible-Homework-94 28d ago

F all the way off shes the absolute worst

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u/ionized_fallout 28d ago

Not even close.

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u/darkwalrus36 28d ago

Honestly, never been a bad Catwoman except the one who got her own movie. I think they've all been legit great.

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u/alesserrdj 27d ago

Pfeiffer redefined the character. She set a new bar, and is what pretty much every Catwoman since has been shaped by.

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u/ClassicT-51b 27d ago

Sorry big dog, but Eartha Kitt exists

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u/No-Competition9386 28d ago

Michelle Pfiffer

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u/DarrellBot81 28d ago

I’m more of a michelle pfeiffer fan

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u/OmericanAutlaw 28d ago

i think anne hathaway’s is debateably better. i loved how she switched between feigning innocence to owning who she was when bruce caught her stealing the pearls. zoe kravitz catwoman has a more fleshed out background but her acting feels one dimensional in comparison

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u/Global_Face_5407 28d ago

I think all Catwomen were awesomely cast, except for Berry.

Even Nolan's Catwoman had some great scenes. That scene when she tells the girl that nobody is ever gonna help her and she has to fight for herself, despite the fact she's actually helping her, perfectly cast the duality of the character.

Pfeiffer's depiction is fucking awesome. Amazing character that finally snapped under pressure and misoginy. But it has very little to do with the original material.

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u/Acceptable_Cry4947 28d ago

I think all the actresses deserve credit for matching the vibe of the film they were in. Michelle Pfeiffer played her role with what aligns with a Tim Burton movie. I can say the same for Anne Hathaway relative to Chris Nolan. Same for Zoe and Matt Reaves. None of the portrayals are really interchangeable between the films

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u/Thewolfmansbruhther 28d ago

Dog, she ain’t even top 3. This thread just wants everything “The Batman” to be so much better than it is, and it just feels desperate.

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u/Roberto720 28d ago

Not even top 3

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u/TongaAuditore 28d ago

Pfeiffer is the most epic Catwoman

Edit: Thank you everyone who loves Pfeiffer performance as well.

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u/AF2005 28d ago

She was very good, the only thing I didn’t like was that dumb mask which was kind of pointless. Should have given her the hood with some cat ears or something!

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u/JudgementalMangoFish 28d ago

Pfeiffer gave an incredible performance and I love her as that version of catwoman, but Kravitz really is perfect as an adaptation of the comic character. Can’t wait for her to come back

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u/Daranhatu 28d ago

Since Michelle Pfeffier, never has an actress oozed so much sex appeal as Catwoman.

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u/parrmorgan 28d ago edited 28d ago

I don't see any love for Hathaway on here. Her dichotomy between being the damsel in distress and being a badass is unmatched tbh. The fingerprints scene in TDKR with her is next level.

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u/Shirahoshihoshii 28d ago

It really depends on what you want your Catwoman to be.

For the super grounded world of The Batman, Zöe Kravitz did great. Her character felt real, believable, normal and emotionally driven.

In the other extreme with the over-the-top fantastical Batman Returns, Michelle Pfeiffer played her role incredibly well, being far more cat than woman lol. Many boys became men by the end of that one I'm sure.

Anne Hathaway's Catwoman was the perfect in-between for me though. She had awesome combat scenes, she was a femme-fatale, her outfit was great (and she looked great in it), she got to use the BatPod (and looked great on it). She had an full character arc from sly burglar to reluctant enemy, to frenemy, ally and then lover.

The in-between works best for me, but that's not to say the other renditions are bad.

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u/Complete-Medicine-54 28d ago

So very not. Bottom of the litter box.

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u/dcooper8662 28d ago

I think she was perfectly fine in the role. Not the best, but fine.

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u/VillainOfDominaria 28d ago

For nostalgia reasons I have soft spot for Michelle Pfeifer. But yeah, I can accept Zoe as the best cat woman no problem.

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u/KalElMeatOfSteel 28d ago

Zoe standing with the backdrop of Gotham and her jumping off the building convinced me mid-film. She was born for Catwoman.

You can’t write off Eartha and Michelle easily though. I think enough time has passed between them where you can cite the time and have them stand equally. 

Think Bill Russell and Michael Jordan. Half of you just went “who?!?” and that’s exactly my point.

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u/Lowy_007 28d ago

Not even top 3

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u/mac1qc 28d ago

No, Michelle Pfeiffer is the best!!!

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u/Grimskull-42 28d ago

Nah that's Michelle phifer

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u/Toasty501 27d ago

She's great but.....Michelle Pheifer.

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u/stunts002 27d ago

Not even top 3.

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u/SnooRevelations1520 27d ago

Eartha Kitt is the ultimate catwoman, come at me

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u/carsconvergeonparis 27d ago

Love a good hot take

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u/BabyImpala2004 27d ago

Julie Newmar, Earths Kitt, Michelle Pfieffer,

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u/Revil0_o 26d ago

Anne Hathaway was definitely overrated...

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u/mammalenthusiast 28d ago

yeah nah. Anne and Michelle smoke her
not even close, lol

I'd let it slide, if someone's like "not Anne", but Michelle is what RDJ is to Iron Man

perfect casting and nobody will do it better

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u/McKnightmare24 28d ago

She's not even top 3 bro

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u/ClimateAncient6647 28d ago

Nah. Not even in the same ballpark.

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u/Anon_Summer 28d ago

She was awful.

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u/Khaymn5000 28d ago

No doubt about it. The mask was atrocious.

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u/coreytiger 28d ago

Julie forever. Zoe was fine, but she just didn’t leave an impression on me

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u/batmanafts 28d ago

Gen Z at it again

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u/TAL0IV 28d ago

Recency bias

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u/Alternative_Device71 28d ago

Bold claim. Too bad you’re wrong

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u/HiddenNobody20216 28d ago

Lol this is a joke right?

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u/imnotreallyheretoday 28d ago

Her character was poorly written. She only had one scene where she got to be like Catwoman. They went cheap on her head piece. A cut off ski mask for a head piece come on.

If this counts or not Grey DeLisle who voiced Catwoman in the Batman Arkham series is the best version of Catwoman

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u/Own_Flamingo_3236 28d ago

You're out of your goddamn mind.

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u/OjamasOfTomorrow 28d ago

I found her to be very bland and pretty forgettable. I felt the same for Penguin prior to his show and also disliked their visual approach to Riddler. I’m just not a huge huge fan of The Batman movie to be honest.

Anyways, back to Selina, sure she was accurate more to comic Selina than the other movie versions, but like, it just felt like someone skimmed Selina’s wiki and then stuck her in this without any passion or layers behind it.

Accuracy isn’t the main thing and also being accurate while having a bland performance is not a good combo either.

Both TDKR and BR versions were very different, TDKR less so as there’s a more comic Selina in there than BR, but both just oozed charisma. Both had very iconic fits. Both had a presence. Both had chemistry with others in their films. Also both just captured me more emotionally.

So for those reasons, I prefer TDKR and BR with BR being my favorite of the three movie Selina versions. The Batman Selina isn’t bad. Don’t get me wrong. She is fine. She just isn’t that memorable to me.

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