Batman Returns (1992)
Batman Returns (1992) 7/10
Dark, gothic and very brooding, Tim Burton’s followup to his original masterpiece doesn’t quite match up to the first batman, but has its moments of brilliance too.
Of especial note is Michelle Pfeiffer who purrs and sizzles in one of her most memorable roles as Catwoman. She is so good that Halle Berry, in a subsequent film Catwoman simply gets overshadowed because Pfeiffer has set the standard. Danny Devito also has a welcome role as a tragic villian. Burton’s potrayal of the Penguin as a freak born of tragedy, and the almost farcical manner Penguin gets nominated as mayor is so over the top as to be enjoyable. In addition, Christopher Walken also puts in a commendable performance as the power hungry Max Shreck.
The problem is that in a film titled Batman Returns, Batman is ironically the weakest link. Michael Keaton is almost totally overshadowed by the villians and they steal nearly every scene. Batman doesn’t really make an impression here (although the batmobile is still swell). The film could have been titled Penguin and Catwoman, seeing the passive role of Batman in this film. In addtiton to being bland, Keaton himself doesn’t really have much screen time to make an impression. Although the same problem happened in the original Batman, at least Keaton only had to deal with one superb performance by Jack Nicholson. Now, Keaton has no less than 3 adveraries, all of whom are more interesting than him. Which perhaps is one of the reasons i consider Batman Begins to be the best of the Batman films because it finally returns focus back to the main character.
Actually the first thing I will disagree with you is that there are many ways in which Batman Returns surpasses the first. It’s better paced, better casted, better directed and it feature richer characters and a more layered story. (Oh and it also features THE BEST BATMAN SUIT) For one thing I never cared for Vickie Vale. In a lot of ways it feels like she’s only there as a plot device. When you really think about it, it’s really hard to figure out what exactly Wayne sees in her. As oppose to Selena Kyle, where the attraction makes total sense in their secret identities and their alter egos.
You are so right. Pfeiffer is unforgettable as Catwoman. The same goes for Devito as the overtly sexual penguin. Looking at it recently again I really came to notice just what a horny little guy he is.
But I disagree with the argument regarding Batman’s role. True his role does feel smaller in scale but he is in the movie as much as he needs to be and enough to create an impression. He actually has as many great hero moments in this movie as he did in the first. Also its better to have a “smaller” role in the scheme of things than to look for unnecessary ways to cram more Batman into the plot.
And it is a pretty damn good plot; with flaws but very far from boring. The real problems in the movie come from some of the inexplicable elements in the story. I still don’t understand Catwoman’s origin and how does that give her 9 lives. And then of course is the army of penguins which is like the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi.
And yes in a way Catwoman and Penguin do take center stage in this movie, but those are hardly the grounds to criticize it. Not to get all fanboy here, but one of the elements that has made Batman such a great comic for almost a century now is his rogue gallery. His villains are so incredible that they have more than often been the focused of the story not only in comics but also ironically in episodes of the classic 90’s animated show and as it shown by Batman Returns, also the movies. And as long as it makes for a great story, how could you ever have a problem with it?
Comment by Gabe — September 27, 2006 @ 1:13 am
The issue, i feel isn’t so much that Batman Returns has memorable villians, but rather that such villians come at the expense of the main character being sidelined. If you ask me what i remember most about the original Batman, it’d have to be Jack Nicholson’s maniacal performance as Joker. I have a faint impression of Keaton in the original Batman and the most i can say is that he was decent, but not remarkable. Same with Batman Returns, and here i’d say that Keaton’s role as Batman is further diminished to a supporting role. It doesn’t help that Keaton’s Batman does not exude the gravitas of Christian Bale’s Batman. This is less evident when they are in the batsuit, but fairly obvious when they are Bruce Wayne. Somehow, Keaton just doesn’t make an impression. To use an analogy, Keaton’s Batman is the Orlando Bloom, while Batman’s Villians are the Johnny Depp of Pirates of the Caribbean. 10 years after watching Pirates, you may well forget the name of Bloom’s character in Pirates, but its unlikely you’ll forget Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Incidentally, this is also why i think that Spiderman 2 is very much a better film than Spiderman, because Peter Parker is finally the main character rather than a side role.
Comment by nevinyrral — September 27, 2006 @ 1:43 am