I have to admit, when I was a kid, I thought Pfeiffer's Catwoman was amazing. Hers was the Catwoman to beat. Nobody with a brain actually considers Halle Berry's "Catwoman" remotely good, so Pfeiffer's Catwoman shone brighter than ever after that atrocious "piece of shit, god-awful movie" (to quote Halle Berry) came out. When Anne Hathaway was cast in Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight Rises,' the internet roared with outrage. A huge dilemma arose – most people were convinced that the casting was a sure sign of another Halle Berry tragedy, yet Nolan was very accurate in his portrayal of the Batman universe so far. It remained to be seen how this casting choice would play out.
More people became outraged when the first pictures of Nolan's Catwoman were released showing her without her trademarked cowl or a whip in hand. Cut to the actual movie – when Selina Kyle was first shown as a timid maid, I thought that an origin story might be waiting for us, but a simple "Oops" changed that. I was won over by a single syllable, and so were most skeptics. Yes, Bane was great as a character. (By great, I mean so sexually appealing that I still fantasize about having crazy gay sex with him; I mean, doesn't everybody?) However, throughout the movie, I couldn't help but look forward to another appearance from Catwoman.
Complaints directed at Anne Hathaway's Catwoman revolved around her not carrying a whip and that she was not "catty" enough. My response to such critics would be "We're in the fucking 21st century!" Catwoman no longer needs a whip because a gun is more efficient, and she is not more cat-like because real cat-burglars do not literally purr! And I honestly prefer Catwoman without the cowl. Let's not forget Julie Newmar's Catwoman did not wear a cowl. It's not anything new.
Pfeiffer's Catwoman was good, no doubt, but her Catwoman belongs in the 90's, when she was so appropriately cast. Anne Hathaway's Catwoman is more calm and collected, and has just the right amount of sex appeal, making her's the ideal standard for today. Many fanboys will disagree with me, and that's fine –because purring, bipolar cat-burglars running around with whips is so realistic, no?
Pfeiffer introduced us to the character and enchanted us with her performance, but Hathaway made us fall in love with her again long after we grew out of childhood. Catwoman has evolved. Nolan's Catwoman is the Catwoman of the 21st century – less flashy and more practical.
