Batman Returns

Bizarre second outing for the Dark Knight that goes overboard on the darkness, but remains highly entertaining. DeVito has way too much fun, and Pfeiffer's Catwoman remains the benchmark. This film forced the overcorrection of Batman Forever and disastrous Batman and Robin. Can't help but wonder what would have happened if Burton and Keaton continued the series. 7/10.

Very rarely do movie sequels ever match the grandeur of the originals. BATMAN RETURNS however, does so with gusto. The sequel to 1989's BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS neither milks the success of the first movie nor totally disregards it; it's a wonderful sequel and a spectacular movie in its own right. There's something for everyone in this movie - humor, high drama, plenty of action, and lots of cool things to look at. Of course, viewers have to get around Tim Burton's morbid and sometimes offensive sense of humor, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem in this era of SOUTH PARK and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. While the movie has many great moments, it also has its flaws. The plot seems rushed, stitched together. Danny DeVito tries his best as the Penguin but doesn't quite pull it off. Christopher Walken appears as a secondary bad guy, but his performance is lackluster compared to the others. And many of the action sequences, though breathtaking, seemed forced and are occasionally absurd. All that aside, there's all kinds of surprises in this movie - smart humor and dialogue, characters you can't help but love, lots of satire (Homer's Iliad, CITIZEN KANE, and the American political scene are all lampooned), and many memorable scenes that only serve as a testament to Burton's colorful imagination. I hope to get this movie on DVD, where I can enjoy it on my big screen TV in all its glory. Not exactly the best Batman film ever, but still a fascinating movie to watch over and over again.

As a life-long mega Bat-fan, I thought that Batman Returns did the best job (of all four films) of portraying the Dark Knight. Sure, the 1989's Batman was great, but it was lopsided; it might as well have been called "Joker" considering the focus of the film. Batman Returns allowed us a better look at Batman/Bruce Wayne himself, who was little more than an imposing supporting cast member in the first film; I loved Jack Nicholson's over-the-top performance, but THIS fanboy wanted more of the Caped Crusader in the film. Batman Returns gave us that and more...we got Batman/Bruce character development, the AWESOME give-and-take between Batman and Catwoman (one of the strangest courtships in comics), and Burton even tossed us a little bit of fun, dark humor with Shreck and the Penguin. Everyone's performances maintained consistent characterizations that came across beautifully as both mad and tragic; Keaton was subtly psychotic, Pfeiffer was fatally seductive, Walken was deliciously megalomaniacal, and DeVito was unwaveringly grotesque. Everyone pulled off their characters with gusto and memorable appeal. Though not as dark and gritty as the first film, "Returns" captured the subtle madness that permeates Gotham City. When you compare "Returns" to the other Batman films, it is easy to see that it gives Batman's world the touch of underlying insanity (as only Burton can capture) that the first film lacked (where was the Joker's twisted sense of humor?) and the last two increasingly turned into the Three Stooges ("Chicks dig the car"!?!). Batman Returns excelled in that it was a dark, disturbingly insane portrait of Batman and Gotham City; a film that carefully balances on the fine line where and darkness and madness meet. For those movie lovers brave enough to try walking that line, I recommend this film.

Ah, Batman Returns, is it possible to have a sequel to be almost as good as the original? With Batman Returns, it came pretty close! We have terrific actors and a great plot with the dark knight and two new villains, Catwoman and The Penguin. We have Michael Keaton back as Batman and he's still awesome than ever. Michelle Pfieffer, the perfect choice for Catwoman and was perfectly cast into place. As much as I love and is such an incredible actress Annette Benning, she couldn't have been Catwoman, she doesn't really have the look. Danny DeVito, who could have imagined him as The Penguin? He was just great and terrifying!

Batman returns with a more loving community of Gotham City, they are celebrating Christmas time with, Max Shrek played by a creepy Christopher Walken. The perfect villain who mistreats his lovely secretary, Selina who happens to hear too much at his office causing him to push her out the window in hopes that she dies and will never reveal the information of knowing the Penguin and the attempt to make him loved in Gotham. When she survives and is awakened by cats, she wants revenge and is ready to go at it with her cats! But there is also another active villain, The Penguin who is in search of his parents that abandoned him and now he is looking to be the new mayor of Gotham City! Can Batman be able to stop both super villains from creating their hanous acts and stop the mayor from destroying the city as well?

You'll have to see! Batman Returns is just as good as the original Batman, despite the first one remaining the true classic, this one still takes you for a ride. And come on, I mean we've got Michelle in leather! Her classic moment of just meeting Batman and The Penguin "Meow" is classic! There are memorable characters, lines, and sets! You'll have a blast! Trust me!

9/10

I've enjoyed this movie ever since I was a kid and I still do. I also liked Batman forever back then but the real difference is that THIS movie didn't date when I grew up. I did notice a few scenes in this film that didn't make any sense like: 'Hhmm... the crowd is angry. Hey! Where did they get those tomatoes from?' Then I thought: 'who cares? This movie is not 100% serious anyway!'

The original Tim Burton Batman was great as well but it was a bit cheesy at some parts and I didn't like all the actors. This movie improved on almost every aspect with a wonderful cast, a more Gothic style and no involvement of Prince.

Nowadays, many fans of the Christopher Nolan movies dislike Burton claiming that the Nolan movies are more serious and therefore more loyal to the comics. I don't think this is entirely true: -There has never been an adaptation of the original concept of Batman which was a vengeful criminal killer with a gun. -Batman has taken many forms over the years peeking its silliness in the 60's (and a bit with Batman & Robin). A director is free to choose what kind of Batman he's going to portray as long if it's good.

My opinion: Batman doesn't necessarily have to be serious. It's about a man in a rubber suit with pointy ears. Burton managed to create a perfect balance between the silliness and the darkness surrounding the whole idea.

I just recently watched the Nolan movies and I love those ones as well (especially The Dark Knight). There's simply something about this movie that interests me more. Nolan's goal was to give the character much more depth and in doing so, he looked for an explanation of nearly every aspect of Batman. That's a bit too much for me, I'm a bigger fan of the more abstract version of Batman. The Burton movies are more theatrical and centered around the atmosphere.

My conclusion is that you shouldn't compare the Nolan with the Burton movies. They're just different and it's up to you to decide which one you like better. My respect is for both directors.