After the smash success of Batman ’89 and before the neon light experiments gone wrong, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton teamed up again for what feels like a somewhat forgotten sequel, Batman Returns.
Gone was the Prince soundtrack and the star power of Jack Nicholson, but the Tim Burton darkness that brought maturity to ’89 gets cranked up several notches in this 1992 follow-up.
I remember watching this movie in the theater as a child, but I haven’t seen Batman Returns for ~25 years. The film divides opinion among fans these days. You can find many calling it the best Batman of all time, but other critics, not so much.
But now that the quartet of pre-Christopher Nolan Batman movies is available on HBO Max and because Youtuber Minty of Minty Comedic Arts recommended giving this film a second try, I decided to rewatch it.
So is Batman Returns a good movie?
The Plot of Batman Returns:
I like to imagine this film has an alternate title: Three Villains and a Conflicted Hero.
Last seen dispatching the Joker, this time the caped crusader has to foil the schemes of ruthless businessman Max Shreck and The Penguin.
Complicating matters is Catwoman, the alter ego of Shreck’s former secretary, Selena Kyle, who seeks revenge against him.
As Batman and Catwoman square off by night, unbeknownst to them, their alter egos, Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle, court by day.
The film stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot / Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, Christopher Walken as Max Shreck, and Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth.
The Rest of the Main Cast Includes:
- Pat Hingle as James Gordon
- Michael Murphy as the Mayor
- Andrew Bryniarski as Charles “Chip” Schreck
- Cristi Conaway as the Ice Princess
- Paul Reubens and Diane Salinger as Tucker and Esther Cobblepot
- Sean Whalen as a paperboy
- Jan Hooks and Steve Witting as Jen and Josh
- Vincent Schiavelli as the monkey-toting Organ Grinder
- Anna Katarina as the Poodle Lady
- Rick Zumwalt as the Tattooed Strongman
- John Strong as the Sword Swallower
- Erika Andersch as the Knifethrower Dame
- Gregory Scott Cummins as the Acrobatic Thug
- Branscombe Richmond as the Terrifying Clown
- Travis Mckenna as the Fat Clown
- Doug Jones as the Thin Clown
(Batman Returns trailer below on YouTube through DC)
The Good Things:
Strong Production Values, +3 Points
Everything from the design of the Batmobile to the 1930s aesthetic, like vintage microphones at press conferences or the charcoal pin-striped suits and trench coats, creates a full-world Gotham, a comic meshing into real life without heavy CGI. And this Gotham looks straight out of the film Metropolis, with its tall statutes and vintage lettering.
Danny Elfman’s colorful soundtrack brings what I’m dubbing the “brooding and hijinx” sound of his Batman scores. Think moaning organs and tinkling xylophone, among other instruments. The score lends an enjoyable continuity between Returns and ’89.
Lastly, we have to applaud the props of the Penguin. Whether it’s his big yellow duck boat or array of spiral umbrellas, how exactly he builds such things in his dark lair is beyond me. He should have gotten a job inventing things rather than becoming a supervillain.
Fun Performances, + 6 Points
Michael Keaton returns as Batman. And despite the angry initial fan backlash to his casting in the ’89 movie, he works well again here as more of an everyman Batman who gets by on gadgets over physical prowess. And the quiet intensity he brings to his Bruce Wayne scenes, as he stares into his TV monitor to see The Penguin’s newest threat or discuss his predicament with his butler, Alfred, works.
Michelle Pfieffer’s performance as Catwoman is the best in the movie. Her wild-eyed, am I dead or am I dreaming madness approach was, shall we say, purrfect.
Danny Devito is not given the best lines, but his plodding Penguin is as vile as his grotesque makeup paints him to be.
Lastly, we get Christopher Walken as evil businessman Max Shreck, who glides along looking the part, bringing his New York manner to an evil Gotham magnate.
Dark Fantasy, +4 Points
We have Tim Burton to thank for making Batman ’89 a commercial success that also brought the dark knight himself back to respectability on the screen. It took a grittier tone like the ’80s comics of the day, such as Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One or The Dark Knight Returns (both recommended reading).
This movie went even darker. Dark enough to famously anger McDonald’s over a toy tie-in, as they felt it was unsuitable for kids (remember how I said I was in the theater watching it anyway? Thanks, Dad, for being awesome).
We have themes like the twisted love brewing between Catwoman and Batman. And rather than miraculous interventions, bad things actually happen, like the Penguin murdering an innocent woman who Batman cannot save in time.
And you wonder if Catwoman’s ultra-tight black and stitches getup is something they made for the film or just nabbed out of a BDSM store.
Yet the film’s start might be at the top of the movie’s naughty list. The Penguin’s parents, disappointed at their baby’s deformities, slip him into a basket and chuck it into the river.
And winning the award for the most savage moment goes to the scene where the Penguin retaliates by biting a man in the nose.
But what do you expect? Villain Max Shreck is named after the famous German actor Max Schreck, who played Count Orlok in the original Nosferatu. No doubt the nod to a vampire movie is intentional.
The Not-As-Good Things:
Questionable Writing, -3 Points
The overall writing of Batman Returns isn’t bad in principle but suffers from flawed execution of the details.
For example, before Selena Kyle’s transformation into Catwoman, she speaks out loud about her failures and dissatisfaction with herself. It’s unnatural and just there to tell the audience she isn’t having a good time. It’s lazy storytelling. The movie could work this in subtly, and the audience would get the idea.
Then there’s the supernatural cat resurrection/transformation of Selena Kyle into Catwoman. It confused me as a kid and still does as an adult. Were the alley cats coming to eat her, or did they want to help her? Even in the context of a superhero movie, it’s odd (to be fair to Michelle Pfeiffer, her acting in that scene kicks ass).
(Clip of her transformation below on YouTube through Warner Bros.)
If the movie wanted to keep it supernatural, fine. But the script could have made Selena Kyle’s transformation more logical. She has a pet cat, but otherwise, there’s no connection between her and this pack of wild felines that come out of nowhere to rescue her from certain death and imbue her with nine lives.
Selena could have fed local cats outside her work or apartment. Then their strange supernatural resurrection might be some creature bond the audience can roll with. Instead, this stereotypical lonely cat lady with no partner…decides to sew a black leather suit and become a catwoman, of all things.
Lastly, the dialogue can be trite, with lines like “I am Catwoman. Hear me roar” or cringeworthy, such as when The Penguin refers to Catwoman as, “Just the pussy I’ve been looking for!” (no wonder McDonald’s complained!)
Goofiness, -2 Points
Sometimes the movie is just plain silly, such as the Penguin’s hapless Red Triangle Gang. They are a bunch of clownish goons who look like villains from the 60s Batman TV show.
The gang practices some sort of clown Capoeira fighting style. It seems to alternate between punching people in the stomach or aggressively patting them on the back, like a childhood bully giving “noogies.”
(Clip below on YouTube through DC)
Batman gets rid of a huge Red Triangle Gang member by comically attaching dynamite to him, and the thug, presumably, explodes off-screen, which is very Wile E. Coyote (Looney Tunes cartoons).
I’d get it if the film had a Pee-wee Herman vibe, but this is the movie with the dark black goop falling out of the Penguin’s mouth. So let’s have a gang we can fear here.
Should I Watch Batman Returns?
Total Arbitrary Points Score: 8 Points
The action in Batman Returns feels flat by today’s standards. Because the movie has to balance out screen time among four protagonists/villains, it lacks depth and tension in some moments.
But I can’t help but like this movie. You have to give it credit for trying to explore twisted themes over lazily cashing in on Batman ’89’s success.
Pfieffer’s performance, in particular, is a lot of fun.
And I love the way ’89 and Returns blend some of the campiness of Batman from the 1960s TV show with the comic book grittiness of the Frank Miller comics of the day.
Some audiences won’t enjoy how dreary, unrealistic, and downright mean the movie can be.
But if you’re a fan of Batman or Tim Burton misfits-trying-to-make-it-in-society movies, maybe there’s something in this one for you too.
Batman Returns is directed by Tim Burton.
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Disclaimer:
This review’s factual information was gathered through online sources, like Wikipedia, IMDB, or interviews. Misrepresentations and errors are possible but unintentional.
Making art is hard. This is a fan’s blog. Any criticisms are meant to be constructive.
