Sadly Over-hyped

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

good back-story, and good acting

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

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.

Loved the concept of the female "seasoned"assassin played by Janet McTeer! She really made the movie stand out, so matter of fact about her various episodes of murder, she stole the movie! Janet was also terrific in the movie series White Queen, playing Jacquetta Woodville,the mother of the British Plantagenous queen, both of who had serious witch talents. I am very sure there wouldn't be a 2nd Cat Run if it hadn't been for Janet's performance! The story about the hostess/hooker running away with the hard drive has been done before, with quite notable actors, but was not as unique as this story, the characters being slightly out of the ordinary, like Cat's father the pig farmer. The two actors playing the private detectives make it more of a comedy of errors than a serious story!

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.

I would agree with most on here that this movie is a flawed but entertaining R rated film.its an action comedy movie that involves a female escort who witness a government cover up of a crime and is then hunted by the people trying to cover it up, aided by two unlikely private detectives to expose the crime and escape the ruthless assassins sent to eliminate her.quite the simple plot yet filled with all sort of characters from funny and silly like Jullian played by Alphonso Mcauley to cold blooded killers like Helen played by Janet Mcteer who for me really stole the show with her brilliant performance as the British assassin, absolutely loved her ! the movie is a mixture of Action and Comedy which could work for and against the film, at times it felt like a Bond film, other times felt more like There is something about Marry !! I mostly enjoyed the serious part of it, the mature violent kills and gory scenes, i also loved the setting of the film that took a wide tour through European countries capturing some beautiful scenery which added much to the movie.Action scene were pulled off with perfection, gun fights and a final fist fight not to be missed.In short, the movie was flawed in certain areas, but was actually pretty entertaining and worth a watch for sure, at least for Janet Mcteer's performance and some solid mature action. I say 7.5 out of 10