Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
Batman attracts criminals like a moth to a flame, but Gotham City breeds them to be even weirder than one expects. That’s okay since the man behind the mask isn’t exactly playing with a full deck…at least in his own mind.
The success of the 1989 Batman movie had sequel written all over it. It was evident to the powers-on-high that this was the cash cow to milk for all it was worth. So in 1992 Batman Returns brought back the team of director Tim Burton and actor Michael Keaton to chronicle the further adventures of the Dark Knight Detective. Burton’s vision from Batman is carried over and taken up another notch as it becomes an even darker film than the previous one. Not the grim-and-gritty type of darkness but a sense of surreal macabre announcing Burton’s signature style of movie making.
So what does a darker film mean for the Dark Knight himself? In this case it means double the villainy.
The Cat and the Penguin
The Penguin’s appearance is drastically changed in the movie from his comic book counterpart. In the funny pages he was constantly teased by children due to his short stature, rotund figure, and long nose; he was penguin-like in appearance. He considers himself a “gentlemen’s villain” when it comes to crime. Out of all the Batman adversaries, he is perhaps one of the more sane villains. Burton re-imagined Penguin to be something else. Sophistication and eloquence has been thrown out the door and replaced with a deformed, mutant psychopath bent on destroying society for casting him aside as a baby. He actually has flippers for hands, but his trademarked top hat, umbrella and monocle are still present.
Danny DeVito plays the Penguin to Burton’s imaginings but I think they both missed the point on who the character really is. He isn’t a freak of nature nor is he an irrational psycho. His appearance is more grotesque and monstrous than it needed to be. I don’t know if this was an easier way of presenting the Penguin to the audience and making it more dramatic but it was pretty bizarre to me. At least he understood about the theme of persecution which was the backbone to his origin.
As ugly as the Penguin was, Catwoman was a beauty to behold. Every man (and even some women) wanted the leather-wearing dominatrix to whip them into place. Don’t deny it. My wife would leave me in a heartbeat if that could happen to her. Michelle Pfeiffer became the poster girl for wet dreams in this movie.
But in typical Burton fashion, this isn’t the cat-burglar villain that comic fans are accustomed to in the funny pages. Mousey Selina Kyle works as a secretary for business tycoon Max Schreck (played by Christopher Walken), a devious and shrewd man who masks his true corrupted intentions with smokescreens and mirrors. He’s been trying to convince the Mayor of Gotham City to grant him a permit to build a new power plant, one that will benefit the citizens of the city. However, the power plant isn’t all it seems to be as Selina accidentally discovers. She pays for stumbling across Max’s true intention and is murdered by him as a result. Because this is a Burton movie, because he likes to deal with the unusual, Selina is revived and saved by cats. Her mind is singular in thought: revenge on Max. Thus, Catwoman is born.
This Catwoman has a supernatural aura about her, especially when she finds out the she really does have “nine lives”. Even though Batman’s world looks like it’s a perfect fit for the supernatural, it’s not the best situation for him. He’s better off dealing with mobsters and gangsters and the corruption within Gotham City, even if they wear a costume or not. That’s his world.
Considering the players involved in this movie, I think Burton has a fetish for animals and leather. Weird combination if you ask me.
The Real Villain
The Penguin and Catwoman may seem be the flamboyant costumed villains but they aren’t the main ones at all. That distinction goes to Max Schreck. His villainy is more subtle and will usually go unnoticed amidst the circus performance in Gotham City. He’s the puppet master behind the Penguin’s rise to political power in his bid to become mayor. He’s the one manipulating the situation and uses Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin) as a means to get what he wants. Inadvertenly, Schreck is the cause for Selina Kyle’s transformation into Catwoman. And Batman somehow manages to get stuck in the middle of the whole situation.
The Fifth Wheel
The title of the movie is Batman Returns but it feels like our hero is playing second fiddle to the villains of the movie once again. I didn’t feel there was any spectacular Batman moments this time, nothing that was truly memorable. I think scenes with Bruce Wayne stand out more for me than his alter ego. Bruce actually got to do a lot more in this film. We even get to see the side of the businessman, the one who runs Wayne Enterprises. Keaton does a great job at playing a quirky Bruce Wayne. He let his guard down a bit more this time out and had some fun with him.
The chemistry between Batman and Catwoman is erotic and sensual as it should be. There’s an undeniably attraction between the two. The only thing stopping Batman from being with Catwoman is the law.
And there’s the banter between Bruce and Alfred which is always priceless.
Alfred: Why are you now determined to prove that this Penguin is not what he seems? Must you be the only lonely man-beast in town?
Michael Gough, once again, is exquisite in this role as the faithful manservant to the Wayne household. And he’s not one who will talk any guff from Bruce as well. He calls it like it is. Then again, so does Bruce.
Alfred: Let’s not forget the repair of the Batmobile. It’s not like we can take it to any old “Joe’s bodyshop,” now is it, sir? There’s certain security to consider.
Bruce Wayne: Security? Who let Vicki Vale into the Batcave? I’m sitting there working; I turn around, there she is. “Oh hi, Vick - come on in.”
The biggest problem I have is how everyone keeps discovering who Batman is. Vicki Vale was introduced to Bruce’s dual life in Batman. This time Catwoman and Max Schreck are given the distinguished honour.
Max Shreck: Selina! Selina Kyle, you're fired! And Bruce Wayne, why are you dressed up like Batman?
Catwoman: Because he is Batman, you moron!
Max Shreck: Was.
For someone trying to stay in the shadows, Batman paints a very big bullseye on his head and puts the spotlight on him every time this happens. He needs to work on that.
Tim Burton’s world is twisted and full of strange things. Batman Returns reflects this dark vision, even more so than the first one. Sometimes, though, I think he’s too artsy for his own good as this movie heads towards the disturbed and demented route. Things feel too staged for my own liking and there doesn’t seem to be a natural flow in dialogue, pacing, and action.
Danny Elfman provides the right music to capture the dark and eerie tone of this film. His theme song is probably neck-in-neck with the 1960s Batman theme song for being the most memorable.
The impact of Batman Returns influenced the creation of Batman: The Animated Series. The movie versions of Penguin and Catwoman were adapted to be used: Penguin’s appearance reflected how he looked in the movie though he wasn’t a homicidal maniac—here he was the “gentlemen’s villain”—while Catwoman’s only cosmetic change was the colour of her hair—blonde instead of the traditional black—to show a loose continuity with the movie; however, her lifestyle was closer to Bruce Wayne’s status rather than a lowly secretary. The producers of the animated show didn’t like these changes but it was mandated by the powers at Warner Bros. to reflect what the movie showcased. Luckily they were able to shed these versions when they changed the animated style of the show.
I have mixed feelings about Batman Returns. It was a good movie and presented a darker version of the character to the screen. I know parents weren’t too thrilled with it as it became somewhat inappropriate for young kids, and I think Burton forgot that there was an audience of younglings that wanted to see Batman as well. Keaton and Pfeiffer’s chemistry on screen really saved the movie, in my opinion. It’s that sexual tension between these two characters that fans wanted to see and it was presented well. However, I don’t think every villain that is featured in a Batman film has to be demented and tormented. I know it makes for a more interesting character study but it doesn’t always work. Penguin and Catwoman are two of the more “normal” criminals in Batman’s rogues’ gallery, and Burton made them into victims instead of keeping them the powerful characters that they already are. I found Walken’s Max Schreck, as cookie cutter of a template for a shady businessman as you can get, was a more interesting character than the two main villains.
Burton bowed out in making the next Batman movie and I would have been very interested to see where he was going to take this franchise. I have a feeling it would have been even more twisted than ever, heading beyond the world of the surreal. I think if he could, Burton would have filmed this within the confines of a Picasso painting with Shakespearean dialogue, and people would have needed Spark Notes upon entering the movie theatre just to understand what was going on.
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