Batman Returns(1992)

This is my favorite film in the Batman franchise, not because it's here that Tim Burton "cuts loose." I'm also willing to admit that Jack Nicholson's presence is sorely missed, but yet this film has certain advantages that the first didn't. For one thing, there's a lot more subtext going on here, with interesting themes concerning psychological masks, social behavior, and discovering one's "true self." These are all themes that will be rehashed somewhat in the next movie, Batman Forever, but not as subtley or nearly as well.

There's also the incredible set design, which is vastly improved in many respects from the original. Gotham City becomes more...well, gothic with wide, dark streets and fantastically elaborate buildings. The fact that the film takes place during winter (Christmas specifically) makes the design even more interesting, and the festive decorations of the holidays in the bleak, Lovecraftian sprawl that is Batman Returns' Gotham sets up a brilliant contrast.

Michael Keaton continues to be the essential Batman, although the film seems to be more focused on the villains, the Penguin and Catwoman. While a common complaint against all the sequels is that they needed two villains to equal one Jack Nicholson, that isn't quite true for this one. After the typical love interest of Vicky Vale in the original, things had to be shaken up with Catwoman, who plays both rival and love interest. As for Danny DeVito's Penguin, we have a decisively different kind of villain than the Joker. While the Joker is a true, completely unsympathetic villain, one can have pathos for the Penguin in his desire to be reaccepted into society, albeit through completely immoral tactics.

However, there are also flaws, which partially explain why Warner Bros. unleashed Schumacher upon the helpless franchise. For one thing, Warner Bros. actually made the same mistake here as they would with Batman and Robin: they simply gave the individual director too much leeway. Don't get me wrong; I personally have nothing against Tim Burton's direction, but I know some who do, and one can see how Burton's fingerprints on the franchise alienated mainstream audiences. The scene where Selina Kyle is revived by an army of cats is fun, but it's also very jarring and not at all true to the comic, which would certainly cause problems. Also the plot tries to cover too much ground too quickly and thus gets a bit too many holes. For instance, we never find out exactly why Shreck is planning to harvest energy from Gotham City. The implied explanation is that he's doing it for money, but that really isn't enough. How will he gain money from this? Blackmail the city, or resell the stolen power or some such? Since both the Penguin and Catwoman plot threads hinge on this fact, it's pretty hard to ignore. There's also various continuity gaffs that are somewhat humiliating for a film of its budget, such as during the scene where the penguins slide the Penguin's corpse into the water you can see the sliding board under Danny Devito and also when Selina goes to Wayne Manor in Bruce's limo she later leaves in her own car.

All in all, it's still a fun, stylistic film, with interesting, mature takes on a classic hero, his stomping grounds, and two famous members of his rogues gallery. It's definitely not nearly as generally accessible as the original film was, but it's worth a watch and is superior in the ways that matter to the next films in the series.

Choice Quotes

"I am an animal. I am not a human being!"
-The Penguin, after going mad from being exposed to the public by Batman.