MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

bowmanblue I've just finished watching 'Cat Run' and I figured I better get my thoughts down before I totally forget what I wanted to say. I'll begin by mentioning that I'm quite happy to watch 'bad' films. By that I mean 'so-bad-they're-good' films. I wasn't expecting much from a film called 'Cat Run.' I read the blurb – working girl witnesses murder, needs protection, baddies give chase. Yeah, that'll do me for an hour and a half of my time.I started watching it. My first thought was, 'Is this film dubbed?' The voices didn't seem to match up with the actors' mouths and I wondered whether I was watching a foreign film (it is set mainly in continental Europe) dubbed into English. But I wasn't. I overlooked the odd lip-syncing and continued. Sure enough, a high class escort witness a multiple murder and comes away with a hard disk containing data the baddies are after. Cue the chase.The escort runs hither and thither, generally looking pretty attractive and little else. Then we meet our other heroes. A pair of young men who set up a detective agency help to find her. I have to say they didn't appeal to me. The main character I found 'wet' and uninteresting and his friend might as well have been called 'cliched best friend #298.' I have to say by this time I was tuning out – checking my emails on my phone and stuff. It was all pretty dull. I may even have turned it off there and then had it not been for one thing...Helen Bingham. If you don't know her (and I must confess that I don't), she's a British actress who must be around middle age (think Helen Mirren, only about twenty years ago). Anyway, she's hired as an assassin (yes, a middle age woman with cut-glass English accent is a bad-ass assassin – go with it) to bring in the escort and anyone who aids and abets her. In short – Helen Bingham rocks. She totally steals every scene and makes the film watchable. The heroes pale in comparison compared to her. She was so good that I had a horrible feeling that she was only going to be in it for a few scenes and I'd end up watching the rest of the film in the hope that she returns. I'm glad to say she's in it the whole way through. And the film is all the better for it.I won't go into too much detail about what follows, only that if you feel like watching a sort of B-movie version of a Guy Ritchie/spy thriller chase movie (yes, it crosses genres quite broadly – there's even a lot of black comedy thrown in there for good measure), then this one is worth it simply for Helen Bingham's performance.

chow913 Nails + Chalkboard = Razors + Wrists 'Cat Run' has a few funny moments and great Eastern European setting. However it cannot overcome a flawed story and more importantly really really bad actors over acting with dialogue written by a 10 year old boy.The plot: As improbable as it is, American military industrial tycoon Christopher McDonald (the only professional actor in this film) orders the deaths of ALL the prostitutes at a brothel party after he strangles one of them.Instead of simply covering up the minor murder of a prostitute during ruff sex, McDonald's private army of tuxedo clad, sub machinegun brandishing henchmen shoot up the entire mansion. (Isn't this going to be far more difficult to cover up?) But the henchmen simply allow hooker with a heart of gold Cat to run away (still in high heels) with a video of the original strangulation.Enter Americans Scott Mechlowiz and Alphonso McAuley. Since no words can describe the pain of this duo, try to imagine being locked in a steel drum with Pauly Shore and Howie Mandel. Yes, it really is that bad.For reasons never explained these destitute fools end up successfully tracking the wanted Cat all across Europe from country to country on a seemingly unlimited travel budget.They also find themselves at odds with the professional assassin and torturer hired by McDonald, to also find Cat. The vicious assassin, Janet McTeer, parades herself as a British nanny. Much like Sylvester Stallone in 'Rhinestone' and Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Junior.' The fish out of water scenario is so over the top, it's just plain unfunny.The "plot" also does a complete 180 on us when the sadistic assassin we're supposed to fear and hate for torturing innocent victims to dead, suddenly switches sides and becomes a caring and selfless heroine whom wants to help Cat and crush McDonald.Of course the mindless heroes mindlessly accept McTeer as their ally, mindlessly forgetting all wrongs.Sadly, McTeer is the least annoying of the over acting assassins. They're more. Many more. Like a Scotsman whom resembles Fat Bastard from the 'Austin Powers' films. Except, 'Cat Run' is supposed to be and action comedy, not a slapstick comedy. Hence these henchmen all come across as out of place very annoying.The single biggest nail on the chalkboard is the screenplay itself which seems to be written by a 10 year old boy who thinks any type of vulgarity is funny. It's not! And someone should have stopped this script in its tracks from ever being turned into a movie.Crude humor can be done well but this script totally ignores the second part, the humor. The vulgarity needs a punch line. A joke cannot be just 4 letters long.

Argemaluco 11 years ago, director John Stockwell impressed me very much with the film Crazy/Beautiful, but his following movies were very far from reaching that level, such as Cat Run, which I consider (with the exception of the deplorable Into the Blue) his worst film so far. This is a pity, because I think that Stockwell is a solid director who (with the exception of Crazy/Beautiful) hasn't found a project which fully exploits his talent; and after having watched Cat Run, it's evident that the same thing keeps happening.Cat Run pretended to emulate the style made popular by director Guy Ritchie in the films Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Stockwell employed the well-known techniques of quick edition, freeze frame, split screen and animated transitions. However, those tricks feel false, like if Stockwell forcedly introduced them after the shooting, contradicting the general tone from the narrative. Having said that, I understand why he did that...the screenplay lacks of any flow or excitement, and its lazy structure takes us from one scene to another without any enthusiasm or energy. However, the stylish aspects Stockwell added to the film didn't avoid it from being boring, mainly because of the screenplay.Paz Vega is a talented actress, but the character she plays is totally flat and passive. She isn't even a "damsel in danger"; she's just the screenplay's "mcguffin"...that thing which generates conflict because everyone wants to find it. The villains are forgettable clichés; and the duet of North American "heroes" are hateful because of how poorly written they are and the atrocious performances from Scott Mechlowicz and Alphonso McAuley in those roles.Even though Cat Run was a tedious experience, it has one element I liked very much...Janet McTeer's performance. I guess Helen Mirren rejected to play the character of the British efficient killer, and McTeer took advantage of the opportunity in order to bring a brilliant performance. In spite of that, I didn't like Cat Run, mainly because of the bad screenplay and its abundance of irritating characters.

jbar19 This is proof that money, gorgeous women, solid acting and beautiful locales cannot overcome a silly, unbelievable story.The story starts out as a buddy movie with 2 goofy American guys starting a business in Europe. Then, they cross paths with the gorgeous Cat and all hell breaks loose. The focus of the story then changes to another 'bad American govt official in cahoots with ruthless Eastern European arms dealers". And then it gets REALLY silly. And not fun silly. They tried to throw in a few jokes but it is just a muddled mess.The Un-believability factor is ridiculously high. You'd think that Europeans hear gun shots all of the time and do nothing about it.But, if there is a reason to see this movie it is Janet McTeer who steals every scene she is in, doing a better impression of Helen Mirren than even Helen Mirren can do. She is cold, ruthless, efficient and believable, to a certain extent.It started out as a Guy Ritchie type movie, devolves into overblown James Bond type silliness and then the bodies start stacking up like cord wood.The 2 lowest points are the African American guy doing a Scottish Accent and then later, getting everyone out of a jam by picking up his kilt. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.The 2 main guys are very likable but under used, Paz Vega started out as the star but then acts as scenery, not even DL Hughley can save it in the 90 seconds of screen time he gets.This could have been a good movie. They spent a lot of money making it. They should have spent more time writing it. This movie is under cooked.Watch it with low expectations. And enjoy the eye candy. That's it.