Batman Returns (1992)
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Batman Returns Movie Review
Batman Returns is a 1992 superhero film directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito. It’s such a good, very entertaining film.
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“Just the pussy I’ve been lookin’ for!“
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This sequel is very cluttered as it has so many characters that it can hardly keep track with all of them. Admittedly the characterization is admirably strong, but still the film needed simplicity instead of clutter. But that also led to a much more entertaining than expected movie which is very amusing in plot, though admittedly the action takes central stage here.
Batman himself is very underutilized here and underused and boring. It’s a shame really, but everyone else stole the show from him. The Penguin is superb and Danny DeVito was typecast, but still nobody could have played this role better and could have fitted it better. Although overacting was present here a bit, DeVito excelled nonetheless in this highly entertaining and funny, but also rather dark role and he got a superb backstory too. He’s the perfect type of weird outcast for Tim Burton lore.
Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman is also absolutely magnificent and in no small part thanks to Michelle Pfeiffer’s demanding presence and one hell of a villain performance. She’s both sexy and tough and the character is so well written that the movie justified her admittedly crazy, cartoonish and silly backstory and behavior. Christopher Walken as Max Shreck is solid, but typical for the actor and paling in comparison to the above two creations.
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Batman Returns focuses on action much more so than on storytelling which is a problem. Yes, we do get some fun or even great backstories, but the overall storyline is a bit convoluted and not as strong as I wanted it to have been. The dialogue is sexy and playful and very entertaining though, and the direction from Burton is expectedly terrific. This is also a great fit for him in terms of his style and he did make a great use of that and hugely delivered with a lot of off-kilter weirdness in the final product.
This movie also manages to make a great use of its absolutely terrific production design with many sets here that are simply iconic from the rooftop to the Penguin’s hideaway with all the penguins and the pond being very memorable. The movie thus benefits from some great set pieces and fun action sequences, particularly in the aforementioned two areas.
The film looks great across the board with some outdated, but for its time great and very fun costumes and of course a very dark, brooding and menacing atmosphere. This mix of fun and campy humor and dialogue with downright dangerous and serious scenes with murder and torture really made for a very interesting, dual experience which perfectly goes in line with the duality of the two main characters in Batman and Catwoman.
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The score is also superb and I found the humor and sexual parts great as well. Again, the movie’s overstuffed with characters and action, but at least it’s fun in those areas throughout. The pacing can be problematic, but again the flick is never boring which led to such a better, much more entertaining sequel to the duller original film. It’s definitely one of the better Burton films overall.
Thanks to the addition of Michelle Pfeiffer’s highly memorable, fun and very well developed Catwoman and a creepy and very entertaining villain in Danny DeVito’s Penguin, Batman Returns managed to trump its predecessor both in terms of entertainment factor and characterization. It’s cluttered with too many characters and too much action, but it’s still consistently fun, very memorable in its sets and also containing a terrific mix of campy, silly humor and darker, more serious plot points.
