Rating:  -
BATMAN RETURNS (1992) is a personal favorite of mine. It's so quirky and EXTREMELY dark, almost to the point of being nightmarish! Tim Burton's sequel to his exciting, groundbreaking 1989 BATMAN film is a rarity in that it is a sequel that is actually at the very least GOOD! And I think it's much better than good. I like the fact that BATMAN RETURNS is almost completely different from BATMAN. While BATMAN was more grandiose, stylish and epic, BATMAN RETURNS is much more deep, dark, and scary. They really are two different films at their core. BATMAN boasted two great performances in Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. BATMAN RETURNS ups the ante and gives us FOUR great performances! Michael Keaton returns as the Caped Crusader and this time he is joined by Danny Devito (as The Penguin), Michelle Pfeiffer (as Catwoman), and Christopher Walken (as Max Schreck). This was at a time when you could populate a film with major actors/stars and it actually turn out good! Burton's casting choices in his early films are amongst some of the most inspired I can think of out of any director in film history.
BATMAN RETURNS opens with what I think is one of the greatest openings in all of film history! We hear an ominous, downbeat score as we are drawn in to a silhouetted figure standing in a window of a mansion from a distance. Then zoom in and it is the distinguished lord of the manor, pipe in mouth, monocles on (played by none other than Paul Reubens!). Then we hear a woman (his wife) in the bedroom screaming in both agony and horror as she has just given birth to an incredibly deformed baby (we are never shown the baby, just the parents and servants horrific reactions). Months later, the parents decide to abandon the baby and during Christmastime, throw him over a bridge at the local zoo and the carriage floats into the sewers as the parents look with confusion and sadness...Then the ominous music shifts to a more recognizable score: The Batman theme, but with some slight and intricate variations from the first film and then the opening credits as we watch the baby carriage go through the sewers and ends up in a penguin lair. I think that Danny Elfmann's score from this sequel surpasses his original! Should have won an Oscar! I just love this opening. Then cut to present day Gotham City 33 years later.
It is the Christmas season in Gotham City and magnate Max Schreck (played with sly, cool, wicked confidence by Christopher Walken) is angling to build a new power plant and enlists the mayor's support. During the meeting, we also meet Schreck's extremely shy and underconfident secretary Selina Kyle (excellently played by the sultry Michelle Pfeiffer). Meanwhile, there are reports of a mysterious "Penguin" figure roaming the sewers of Gotham. During a tree-lighting ceremony where Schreck is giving a speech in Gotham Square, the Red Triangle Gang crashes the ceremony and terrorizing the Gothamite attendees. Commissioner Gordon (reprised by Pat Hingle) sends out the Bat signal as Bruce Wayne (again played by the great Michael Keaton) is sitting in his study alone in the dark. He sees the signal and goes to work! Batman arrives in the city and thwarts the gang for the moment, but in the melee, Schreck is kidnapped as we learn this was all planned by The Penguin (brilliant characterization by Danny Devito), as he wants Schreck to be his conduit back into normal society. He blackmails Schreck by showing proof of his dirty business dealings. Later, Selina stumbles upon papers that prove that Schreck wants to build the power plant to suck all the power from Gotham rather than supply it. Schreck pushes her out of his high-rise office and while she is motionless on the ground, she is revived by a bunch of cats and assumes the persona Catwoman. The Penguin ends up working with both Schreck and Catwoman in different capacities as each has his/her own agenda.
The chemistry among the stars is great in this. Keaton and Pfeiffer are hot together as Batman and Catwoman and simultaneously sweet when they are their alter egos Bruce and Selina. DeVito and Walken are hilarious in their scenes as they scheme to bring down Gotham City and Batman. Also, Keaton and DeVito's scenes, although few, are very emotional and powerful. The tragic irony is that both men were born rich and lost their upbringing in a normal family and that is what made them into the "freaks" that they've become. But it's like watching 2 sides of a coin as Penguin hates the world and wants it to suffer as he has, while Batman channels his anger to do good and prevent incidents that happened to him as a child from ever happening again...Fascinating!
The great thing about BATMAN RETURNS is that Burton skillfully juggles the stories of 4 main characters and forms a memorable ensemble. Each characterization is unique and singular and well performed. This is a much more introspective film that it's predecessor as there are times when you really get into the characters' psyches and see what makes them tick. But, make no mistake, there is still a good amount of action (not as much as original), but the action here all feels more natural and necessary. Burton expertly places the action sequences in healthy doses throughout the film and they are all very well executed. He was underrated as a director of action. The dark, wintry setting also gives this sequel a more dire, apocalyptic tone and feel to it. The ending scenes are very tragic and sad almost to the extent of being hopeless, rather than hopeful. The film invested a lot into the actual characters, so even though they are all villains (except Batman), you actually felt bad when they got theirs in the end because they all had viable reasons for becoming evil. Well done, Mr. Burton!
Rating:  -
The video I recevied displayed an error " cannot not play in this area" It was a big a disappointment to our grandchild for a christmas present. I returned the video on December 31, 2009 & requested a new one. I have not received a credit or a new video.
Rating:  -
Overall, I am not a big fan of the 90s Batman movie series. I thought the series ranged from melodramatic to campy. However, I thought this movie was pretty good. Just to recap how I felt about the other movies, I thought the first Batman, released in 1989, was a complete waste of potential. The title character, Batman, was completely overshadowed by the Joker, whose performance I didn't even like. There were other problems with that movie, but that was my main issue. I actually thought Batman Forever was okay, something I'll go into detail on when I review that movie. As for Batman and Robin, well, I don't even feel the need to mention that pitiful mess of a movie. It killed the franchise for eight years, so enough said. But this movie, I thought was pretty good. It has it's flaws, and it's far from perfect. But I think it is the closest thing this first movie series cameto making a good Batman film.
Let's start with the one thing I liked about the previous movie, the overall look of Gotham. I thought that was the one good thing about Batman '89, and ironically, it's the one thing I dislike about this movie. It just looks a little too dark and creepy. I know Gotham is supposed to look dark and creepy, but that's because it's supposed to be overrun by crime. It looks like the set of Sweeny Todd or Edward Scissorhands. Now I know that in some of the graphic novels Gotham can kind of look like Burton's take, but this is supposed to be a sequel to his first movie. Why does the city look completely different here? Did the city get destroyed and have to be rebuilt?
With that out of the way, let's discuss Batman. Michael Keaton reprised his role, and does a pretty good job this time around. People complain that he doesn't have enough screen time in this movie. I thought he had a lot more screen time in this movie that in the previous one. But I'd have to time it or something to be sure. Batman is developed a lot more this time, especially through his relationship with Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman. They still didn't really get him down pat, but they at least made the effort. Michael Keaton is a pretty good Batman, but he's the worst Bruce Wayne by far. It is arguable that it is just as important to play a good Bruce Wayne as it is to play a good Batman. We wouldn't get someone who could do both until 2005. This may not be Keaton's fault, he was just playing the role he was given. But Bruce Wayne is supposed to be an arrogant playboy, not someone who will stand up to someone like Christopher Walken's character and try to do the right thing. This approach to Bruce Wayne is not the worst thing they could have done with his character, but it still wasn't the right one.
Unfortunately, once again, Batman is overshadowed by the villians. Let's start with Danny Devito's take on the Penguin. In the comics, I don't think the Penguin is supposed to be some kind of deformed individual. He's just supposed to be a short, stubby guy. And he isn't supposed to be a crazy guy who wants to kill all the babies, he's basically just a corrupt businessman. I know there's more to it than that, but this interpretation of him is way off. The thing is, I like this interpretation better. They did kind of createtheir own character and call him the Penguin, but personally, I don't think the Penguin in the comics is all that interesting. That's just my opinion and you are free to disagree. But I loved this interpretation of the Penguin. He's deformed, he was abandoned by his parents, and that makes him want to do the things he does. He is incredibly evil and sadistic, but at the same time you feel sorry for him because of his past. Danny Devito's Penguin is absolutely one of my favorite movie villians of all time, right up there with the T-1000 and Darth Vader.
I thought Michelle Pfeiffer did a great job as Catwoman. Her performance wasn't as memorable as Devito's, but it was still pretty good. Secretary Selina Kyle is nurdered by her evil boss, Max Schrek, played by Christopher Walken. She is somehow revived when a bunch of cats come up to her and start to crawl over her. This brings her back to life, giving her cat powers. This is probably the most underexplained point in the whole movie. But once that's over, we get a pretty good interpretation of Catwoman. She wants revenge on Schrek, and does stuff to tick him off, like blowing up his store. She runs into Batman, and starts up a love/hate relationship with him. At the same time, as Selina Kyle, she falls in love with Bruce Wayne. This causes her to falter, but in the end she chooses her vendetta against Schrek over her feelings for Bruce.
To wrap up, I thought this movie was a huge improvement over the previous installment. It's not perfect, by and means. But it is by far the best of the 90s Batman movie series.
Rating: -
Having defeated the Joker, Batman now faces the Penguin a warped and deformed individual who is intent on being accepted into Gotham society. Crooked businessman Max Schreck is coerced into helping him become Mayor of Gotham and they both attempt to expose Batman in a different light. Earlier however, Selina Kyle, Max's secretary, is thrown from the top of a building and is transformed into Catwoman a mysterious figure who has the same personality disorder as Batman. Batman must attempt to clear his name, all the time deciding just what must be done with the Catwoman. This beautiful, dark, and funny movie is one of Tim Burton's best work. Batman Returns is an awesome experience for fans that like cool movies.
Rating: -
Batman [Michael Keaton] returns to do battle with the Penguin [Danny Devito, Looking rather nightmarish] who sets out to become the mayor of Gotham City, With the help of corrupt Max Schreck [Christopher Walken]. In the midst of all this, a lonely and very frustrated secretary named Selina Kyle [Michelle Pfeiffer, looking drop dead gorgeous especially in costume] is supposedly killed by Schreck for discovering some secret files. But, she is resurrected by cats and given 9 lives and thus becomes Catwoman. But, Problems arise when Batman/Bruce Wayne falls for Selina and their relationship is threatened by their clashing alter-egos. I got the 2-disc special edition of this movie as part of the Batman box set that i found at wal-mart for only $16 [A steal of a deal even if it comes with 2 bad movies]. As a kid, I wore out vhs copies of both this and the original 1989 film in the late-90's. Along with the original 1989 film [See my review for that movie], I watched this a couple of times for the first time in years. Unlike the original film, This film has aged a little better [Although it is still flawed compared to the 2 most recent Batman films]. While none of the villains here are as fun as Nicholson's Joker was, This movie is actually better than its predecessor. The acting is good and this movie features a much better storyline than the first film. But, 1 big problem that the first film suffered from is also obvious here: Batman and especially Bruce Wayne are given too little attention. Again, The villains steal the show from Batman thus making Batman seem like he's second priority. The most intriguing parts of the movie come from the troubled and ultimately doomed relationship between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Danny Devito was a good if frightening penguin. This movie, like the first, Is also visually stunning and it's great to see that this movie had a darker and meaner tone than its predecessor [Batman works better this way]. This was the best movie of the original Batman film series and still holds up today as a pretty entertaining film. Elfman's score is even better here and it was pure genius to use Siouxsie and the banshees' classic Face To Face in this movie [A much better pick than the Prince songs that were in the first film]. If you have the 2 disc edition of this movie, Be sure to watch the video for Face To Face. While still a flawed film, This is the best pre-christian bale batman movie by far. But, Things would take a nosedive from here, Beginning with the next film, Batman Forever.
|
