Batman Returns

Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film was a pretty big success when it first came out. Even though it had elements that polarized fans and Burton’s edge and style felt a little watered down by comparison to his other work, the movie arguably helped pave the way for future comic book movies to come and had earned itself enough money that a sequel started production the very next year after the original’s release. With Burton being given much more ownership and control over the project this time around, which included getting a lot of people who he had worked on with previous projects (which included getting rid of Sam Hamm, who helped write the first Batman, in exchange for Daniel Waters, who Burton took notice of after he was impressed with his work on the 1989 film, Heathers), the final results were the 1992 film, Batman Returns. With a film that seemed to contain a lot more of Burton’s dark gothic staples while also retaining several cast members from the previous movie, it felt like this movie had potential, yet it was met with less than stellar responses upon its release, failing to gross as much money as the first film and being criticized for its overly dark and sexual tone by audiences, who were equally disturbed by the film’s marketing, with children’s toys being associated with a film that many believed was not child-friendly, causing a backlash against the film’s marketing partners (mainly McDonald’s). Despite that drawback, how does the movie hold up? The city of Gotham is again thrown into a bizarre situation when a deformed bird-like man calling himself The Penguin (played by Danny DeVito) arises from the sewers hoping to find the parents who abandoned him as a child. While this draws the attention of Batman (played again by Michael Keaton) who at first feels sympathy given their similar pasts which later turns to distrust when he digs further into his past, it also draws the attention of Selina Kyle (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), a recently murdered secretary who was re-birthed as the seductive anti-villain Catwoman, who spends her time exacting havoc on those who cross her path. After the Penguin reveals his true plan to kill all the riches first-born while posing for mayor with the help of wealthy industrialist, Max Shreck (played by Christopher Walken), and as Bruce Wayne and Selina unknowingly form a romantic connection both in and out of their alter egos, all these plots come to a head when Batman has to stop Penguin from destroying the city and Catwoman from destroying herself. Batman Returns has obvious faults that people are very privy to, yet it doesn’t prevent them from also being strangely engrossed by the movie regardless. It does still have its fair share of legitimate problems, yet the good qualities usually make them worth sitting through.

The movie automatically starts itself off on a completely different playing field from the first as while the 1989 film took heavy inspiration from several famous Batman comics and media, this film decided to go more freelance with inspirations and instead created its own story from the framework of famous Batman characters. This decision no doubt came from Burton’s dislike of working underneath the harsh control of Warner Bros and wishing to have free control over where to take this sequel. Considering how he never hid from the fact that he wanted to do things differently from how the comics usually handle these characters, the altercations and more disturbed atmosphere are much more apparent this time around, and while a little chaotic, allows for more creativity and fluidity with these iconic roles (especially when it came to Batman mowing down his enemies). All these changes made by Burton alongside Waters (who seems to mirror Burton’s gothic energy) are completely fine for creating its own identity and results in a favorably twisted and emotionally raw movie, but much like an issue with the previous film, the movie has great ideas that function emotionally with how Batman works but doesn’t work structurally in comparison to the source material. Components like the backstories for both Catwoman and Penguins, and especially the romance spawned on between Bruce and Selina, are rich with gothic and tragic irony that fits perfectly with the Batman mythos, but a lot of these concepts feel unfinished and not delved into enough to really feel fully completed. There are plenty of scenes and even characters throughout the movie that could have easily been cut without much issue (even a lot of stuff within the climax), with this issue possibly being from the fact that Waters stepped away from the project after disagreements with Burton, which resulted in Wesley Strick being brought in to touch up a few elements (Hamm also worked on some story components before being replaced, so three chefs in the kitchen was bound to cause some confliction) . Despite all these issues, the movie is still strangely engrossing. Even though the movie’s plot is a bit messy and works more on emotional turmoil than actual narrative strength, that very emotional drive helps keep people watching throughout, with usual Burton staples like the gothic tone, messed-up characters, and enriching production and music, certainly being a nice bonus on top of that.

The movie’s biggest issue is that it really should have been called ‘’Catwoman’’ as it presents a pretty clear issue with the movie, but also highlights one of the best aspects of it as well. On the one hand, Batman still feels like a side character within his own movie, as he barely does much outside of the usual crime-fighting, light detective work, and dramatic brooding, and doesn’t really feel like he’s gathered or processed anything from this narrative. It really feels like Burton is able to nail the presence of Batman, with his love for tragic characters with an abnormal spin certainly causing him to gravitate towards the capped crusader, but since he outwardly admitted to not caring too much about following the source material, it seems he doesn’t have much desire to follow the established components of the DC character, only use him as a puppet for telling gothic stories. This can still result in a fun experience, and Keaton is still great (especially whenever he is paired next to Pfeiffer as Selina), but it is an element that these films, in spite of their strengths, never seemed to get. The Penguin is also home to some of the worser parts of the movie, even though he has a lot of positive things going for him. His backstory is well set-up, his design is appropriately grotesque, and Danny DeVito does a fantastic job in the role and surprisingly slips into this character pretty flawlessly, but it’s a character that’s handled very messily. The movie feels like it can’t decide if the audience is supposed to feel sorry for him or be completely disgusted by him, and both ends never fully work because the other angle cancels it out (hard to feel sympathy for someone who wants to drown babies, yet his death is treated with such somberness, it’s very bizarre). With all that said though, Catwoman is easily the best part of this movie. While being very different from the version within the comics, Selina Kyle is given the most screentime, positioned in a way that makes it feel like this is her origin story, and is given a lot of mental turmoil that makes her deliciously complex and interesting. Her look is fantastic with the tight black leather and cat-esque additions, she’s touched with that sense of hysteric harshness that is delightfully entertaining, yet also very tragic, her role as both the femme fatale and the dorky secretary are equally enjoyable, and Michelle Pfeiffer is a joy to watch and insanely strong all throughout, portraying the fractured mental state of this woman with flipping personalities so well. Christopher Walken is giving 100% of his unique acting style throughout this whole movie, bringing forth a very comedic and even hilariously intense character. A lot of the supporting characters are acted well and have a lot of personality.

For what the movie lacks in plot structure, it makes up for with its atmosphere and its production (which just feels like a common point thrown at most Burton projects). While the first movie was also directed by Burton, it felt like he was being heavily suppressed to fit within what the studio wanted to come onto the big screen, so the film had a nice look, but not an extremely unique one. Whereas in this movie, all of his trademark elements are front and centre thanks to bringing over a lot of production people that have assisted him in past projects like Denise Di Novi (producer), Stefan Czapsky (cinematography), Bo Welch (production designer), Stan Winston (creature-effect supervisor), Ve Neill (make-up artist), Tom Duffield and Rich Henrichs (art directors), and it really helps the movie in the long run. The gothic imagery, the harsh yet expertly filmed environments, the heavier usage of color, and of course, the creepy vibe along with its dark sense of humor all factor into why people could enjoy this movie despite its faults. These element help distract the audience from the lesser elements and allow themselves to enjoy what it views on the surface rather than what it is saying underneath. The movie has some fantastic visuals with great production design by Welch and brilliant cinematography by Czapsky, all of which have that uniquely dark beauty and gothic equality that fits perfect with a Batman story. The movie definitely has a much darker edge than its previous film as it goes from not just being dark, but being borderline uncomfortable and unpleasant in moments, really utilizing that PG-13 rating effectively. That along with the tortured and psychotic villains are probably what really upset the advertisers (nobody should actively want a toy of this Penguin). The music by Danny Elfman is also far more engaging than the weird Prince inclusion from the previous movie, with great moments that both capture the off-the-walls insanity and the slow and melodic darkness very well. From the orchestras of the booming, dramatic set pieces, the choir used to enhance the mysterious in both a fantastical but also ominous manner, and even the shrills or ‘’meows’’ of the violins during a particularity memorable mental breakdown sequence perfectly illustrates its point in an eerie, but also entertaining manner.

Batman Returns is a very interesting and entertaining movie to check out, flaws and all. There are a lot of things wrong with this movie, even moreso than the last one in all honesty, which may have been a little toned down, but played itself very effectively, but something about this film feels a bit more unrestrained and therefore more interesting to pick apart. The first one struggled with being too safe in certain areas and veering too far off into other territories at the same time, so that even its pros and cons were kind of suppressed, whereas here all its positives and negatives are at least loud and unapologetic that it can lead to a great time. The acting is great, the visuals and production are outstanding, Catwoman is phenomenal, and even though the story isn’t perfect, it won’t ruin any viewer that isn’t trying to look for issues. It’s a black sheep in its own right, but a black sheep is always going to stand out.