James Davis

I loved Cats, the theatrical musical and know the songs and show very well. The opening number, in the movie version, grabbed me and felt this was going to be great. Why were he critics so down on this presentation? The music was beautiful. As the movie went on, I felt the "stars" Corden, Dench, Wilson, McKellen and Swift, didn't get it. They were playing themselves. Francesca Hayward nailed it. She is so beautiful and sings, acts, and dances so enchantically, she stole the movie. It's really an ensemble show but the movie didn't come across as such. They should have cast talented actors and skipped the names. The big names ruined their characters. Too many close ups of Dench speaking rather than singing her lines. However, I liked it enough to see it twice.