Batman Returns Review
by George V. Reilly (georgr AT microsoft DOT com)June 23rd, 1992
BATMAN RETURNS
A film review by George V. Reilly
Copyright 1992 George V. Reilly
BATMAN RETURNS is a film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay
by Daniel Waters. It stars Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny
DeVito, and Christopher Walken. Rated PG-13 for violence and sexual
innuendo.
BATMAN RETURNS is the latest sequel to hit the big screen this
summer. A followup to 1989's hit BATMAN, it again stars Michael Keaton
in the title role.
The film opens slowly, explaining the origins of the Penguin (Danny
DeVito, unrecognizable under heavy makeup), a horribly deformed little
monster cast adrift by his parents into the sewers who ends up living in
the penguin enclosure at the Gotham City Zoo, and of Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer), a harassed, timid secretary named Selina Kyle who survives a near-fatal fall after being pushed from a high window by her boss
because she knows too much. Selina, roused by cats, transforms herself
into the sexy, feline Catwoman. Meanwhile, her boss, evil megalomaniac megatycoon Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), has joined forces with the
Penguin to take over Gotham City by ousting the mayor and electing
Oswald Cobblepot (the Penguin's real name) in his place.
Batman (Michael Keaton) and his alter ego, multimillionaire Bruce
Wayne, has several run-ins with the Penguin and Shreck, and feels
compelled to stop them. Catwoman, after being beaten by Batman, allies
herself with the Penguin to destroy Batman. They attempt to frame him,
by making him appear to be one of them. In a subplot, Selina Kyle and
Bruce Wayne have become attracted to each other. And so it proceeds, up
to the inevitable orgiastic climax of violence and destruction.
This is a worthy successor to BATMAN. The sets recapture the feel
of the first film, despite the suicide last year of the original
designer, Anton Furst. Gotham City is, well, Gothic; a sombre 1940s
view of the city of the future. The special effects, especially those
involving the Batmobile and the Batplane, are spectacular. There is
violence aplenty, much of it gratuitous; if that's your thing, you
should be satisfied.
The dual character of Batman/Bruce Wayne has been fleshed out and
become more interesting: Wayne is troubled by his bizarre hidden
identity and his compulsion to hide behind Batman's mask in order to
violently effect change. Unfortunately, as with the Joker in BATMAN,
he is overshadowed by the characters of the Penguin and Catwoman.
Michelle Pfeiffer, as Catwoman, is delightful, particularly in her
early scenes after becoming Catwoman, when she gambols and frolics like
a kitten. Throughout the film, she moves with feline grace, she slinks
then attacks savagely; reclining langourously, she stretches sensuously.
As Selina Kyle, she is mostly scattered and harebrained, soft and
vulnerable.
Danny DeVito is less satisfying as the Penguin; he is mad, savage,
brutal, with only the thinnest veneer of civilization. He is humourless
and rarely funny, lacking the Joker's demented capacity for japes.
Christopher Walken's character resembles that of the villain he
played in the Bond movie, A VIEW TO A KILL: depraved and suave.
My main problem with the movie is the number of plotholes. There
is a distressing number of them, some of them gaping wide, but I won't
go into them to avoid spoilers.
In summary, I recommend it. I'm sure it's going to be a big hit,
much to the relief of the merchandisers.
______________________________________________________________________________ George V. Reilly <[email protected]> soon to be <[email protected]>
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
