title : Top Movies - Batman Returns Movie Review - Movie Reviews Sites
Link : Top Movies - Batman Returns Movie Review - Movie Reviews Sites
Top Movies - Batman Returns Movie Review - Movie Reviews Sites
articleComicbook Adaptations,Having defeated the Joker, Bruce Wayne will need to fight three new enemies who are threatening Gotham and its citizens.
Genre: Action/Adventure/FantasyDirectors: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Murphy, Vincent Schiavelli, Andrew Bryniarski, Michael Gough & Pat Hingle.
Run Time: 126 min.
US Release: 19 June 1992
UK Release: 10 July 1992
German Release: 16 July 1992
Welcome back to my DC movie review series, which I will continue with Batman Returns. Following the success of Tim Burton’s 1989 version of Batman, Warner Brothers decided to produce a sequel and brought back Tim Burton as director and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The result was a very dark and spooky movie that did not fare well with the audience and the studio, which thought that Burton went too far. Nevertheless, it obtained generally positive reviews even though it definitely was inferior to the 1989 film. Personally, I was not a big fan of Batman Returns.
--- WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! ---
The plot takes place during Christmas, 33 years after the Cobblepot’s got rid of their deformed child. The Penguin (DeVito) kidnaps industrialist Max Shreck (Walken) and blackmails him to help him be accepted by the people of Gotham. While mean Shreck’s assistant Selina Kyle (Pfeiffer) figures out the businessman’s evil plan and she is pushed out of a window, falling to her death. Cats swarm her body and she is being revived, develops a mental disorder, and fashions a cat costume becoming Catwoman.
During a meeting between Shreck and Bruce (Keaton), Selina surprises both of them and leaves Bruce enchanted by her beauty and quirky personality. Both have a short-lived date when Batman is needed in Gotham but stumble upon each other again as their alter egos. Bruce is simultaneously checking on the Penguin, who together with Shreck starts a campaign to become mayor and thus support Shreck’s plans for a nuclear power plant. Cobblepot also plans to destroy Batman’s reputation as Gotham’s hero and uses Catwoman to reach that goal. Batman will need to fight on both fronts; as Batman against the Penguin and Catwoman and as Bruce Wayne against Max Shreck.
This sequel started the multiple villain story arcs, presenting us with the Penguin, Catwoman and to some extend industrialist Max Shreck, making it feel a little bit too crowded and disjointed at times. The extreme dark tone and atmosphere had been one of the reasons why it obtained such negative feedback from the viewers, the other reason being the misdirection of some of DC’s better-known characters, which turned them into the typical Burton-esque gothic personas that had little to do with Batman and his world. The story itself was silly, even for a Batman movie, and very over-the-top but it also makes for a fun and entertaining Christmas flick.
This sequel started the multiple villain story arcs, presenting us with the Penguin, Catwoman and to some extend industrialist Max Shreck, making it feel a little bit too crowded and disjointed at times. The extreme dark tone and atmosphere had been one of the reasons why it obtained such negative feedback from the viewers, the other reason being the misdirection of some of DC’s better-known characters, which turned them into the typical Burton-esque gothic personas that had little to do with Batman and his world. The story itself was silly, even for a Batman movie, and very over-the-top but it also makes for a fun and entertaining Christmas flick.
That said, Batman Returns also had some really good qualities and entertaining dialogues, such as the conversation between Penguin and Catwoman, who planned to turn the people of Gotham against Batman. This turned the former hero into an anti-hero, wanted by the police. Although a little bit cramped, Burton managed to balance the different character stories pretty well and I also liked the romance that blossomed between Selina and Bruce, as it felt natural and was added with care into the story. Finally, the dialogues might be a little silly but are witty and suit the tone of the plot.
Michael Keaton returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman and compared to his first appearance in 1989, this story focused more on his superhero persona and his relationship with the different villains that sprawled all over Gotham. Bruce has made some major characteristic changes, his relationship with Vicki Vale had not worked out and he is feeling alone, until meeting Selina Kyle, portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. Keaton managed to display those emotions very well and he had fantastic chemistry with Pfeiffer, who also did a terrific job. Selina Kyle’s persona though, was depicted differently to her comic book character; a former prostitute and inspired by Batman to done her cat costume. In this blockbuster, she is a shy office assistant who gets tossed out of the window by her boss and is revived by cats.
Danny DeVito, who played the Penguin in this comic book adaptation, was the weakest character in the movie and I really hated what Tim Burton turned this iconic character into! What we obtained in this film was not the Penguin, but a deformed and disgusting psychopath. I am not a big fan of Danny DeVito and I don’t find him funny, he was scary though and served Burton’s purpose. Still, his lines were extremely cheesy and his plan to steal the firstborns of Gotham was stupid. DeVito simply failed to depict a good villain, after the fantastic performance of Nicholson as the Joker!
Christopher Walken portrayed Max Shreck, Selina’s boss and murderer and a business tycoon with a silly plan to rob Gotham of its energy, to sell it back to the city at a higher price. He is supposed to be the opposite of Bruce Wayne and thus more of a business opponent, but it actually just is Christopher Walken playing himself. While I know that Sleepy Hollow came out seven years later, I couldn’t help but notice that Max Shreck’s make-up design was very similar to that of the headless rider (also played by Walken).
The cinematographic style is similar to that of the first film, but with a much darker atmosphere. The colour palette shifted to a greyish blue that enhanced the grittier tone of the narrative. The special effects look better than in Burton’s previous Bat-flick and the music, composed by Danny Elfman, is one of the best parts in the movie and one of the most epic soundtracks for a superhero blockbuster.
Verdict: In the end, Batman Returns is a fun and entertaining Tim Burton flick, with a solid plot line and entertaining dialogue scenes, but it is not a Batman movie. Burton took everything from Batman lore and reshaped it to his liking, making this a very dark and gothic action-fantasy Christmas movie, but it simply has nothing to do with the DC comics it is based on. While I liked Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer in their respective roles, I simply hated what the writers and director did to the character of the Penguin and disliked Danny DeVito’s portrayal, which was very over-the-top and silly. This is also one of the few portrayals by Walken I did not enjoy. If you are expecting a Batman adaptation, this film will surely disappoint you, but as a Burton flick it was quite all right and I will, therefore, give it a 7 out of 10.
Thank you very much for reading this review and if you liked it, be sure to share it with others. I will be reviewing all three Evil Dead movies next week (incl. Army of Darkness) as well as the TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead and the Angry Birds animation, which will be released on Thursday.
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