Halle's Cat mauled by critics

Halle Berry's debut as a superheroine in Catwoman has been branded a "purr-fect" disaster by American critics.

On the eve of its opening in the US the £60million blockbuster has had some of the worst reviews since Madonna's Swept Away.

The critical thumbs-down could spell box-office doom for the film, which faces stiff competition in the US this weekend from Matt Damon, returning as assassin Jason Bourne in The Bourne Supremacy.

"A purr-fectly ridiculous and boring cat-astrophe" was the verdict of the New York Post.

USA Today warned that " unfortunately" for Berry, "this movie belongs in the litter box".

For the New York Times, "Catwoman-is a howlingly silly, moderatelydiverting exercise in high, pointless style".

Berry plays Patience Phillips, a downtrodden worker at a cosmetics company. After discovering that a cream being developed causes disfigurements she is drowned in toxic waste, but brought back to life by a mysterious cat who gives her feline super-powers.

In what is often seen as a warning sign in Hollywood, several of the scenes are reported to have been reshot up to three times by the film's French director, who likes to be known only as "Pitof ".

After becoming the first black woman to win the Academy Award for Monster's Ball, Berry received mixed reviews for her role in horror thriller Gothika.

The actress split from her husband, singer Eric Benet, this year.