Taylor Swift’s 'Cats' movie gets blunt verdict from Judi Dench: 'Waste of talent'

Dame Judi Dench has made her first ever remark on her 2019 Cats movie,also starring Taylor Swift, calling it a "waste of goodwill and talent."

The 91-year-old actress, who starred as Old Deuteronomy in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous musical, admitted in her memoir that she has never watched the finished film.

Reflecting on the movie's disappointing reception, she wrote, "Oh God, I can’t bear it - and [Lloyd Webber] had waited so long for it to be made."

Dench continued, "What a waste of all that goodwill and talent. I understand the critics were rather hostile to the film."

She then revealed, "I never saw the final cut so I can’t judge."

Despite the negative reviews, Dench defended the cast, which included Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden and Sir Ian McKellen. She said everyone involved had tried their best.

"All I’ll say is nobody sets out to give a poor performance or make a bad film," Dench remarked. "You do your best, offer something up and hope that people will get on board and join the party."

She added that sometimes films fail despite everyone's efforts and that there were no bad intentions behind the project.

"But people’s intentions are mostly honourable. There were no villains in the making of Cats. And if something isn’t a success, then there are always things you can say you’ve learnt."

Dench even got nominated for Worst Supporting Actress at the Golden Raspberry Awards following the film's release.

When asked about the nomination in 2020, she joked on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, "Oh, am I? That would be good. As far as I know, that's a first!"