After the smash success of Batman ’89 and before we got the neon-colored Batman Forever or the unintentionally comical Batman and Robin, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton teamed up again for what feels like a somewhat forgotten sequel, Batman Returns.
Gone was the Prince soundtrack and the star power of Jack Nicholson, but the darkness that brought maturity to ’89 gets cranked up several notches in this 1992 follow-up.
I remember watching this movie in the theater as a child, but I haven’t seen Batman Returns for 25 years. The film divides opinion among fans these days. You can find many calling it the best Batman of all time, but other critics, not so much.
Now that the quartet of 90s Batman movies is available on HBO Max and because Youtuber Minty of Minty Comedic Arts recommended giving it a second try, I decided to rewatch it.
So does Batman Returns age well with an adult viewing?
Three Villains and a Conflicted Hero
In Batman Returns the caped crusader has to foil the schemes of ruthless businessman Max Shreck and The Penguin. Complicating matters is Catwoman, the alter ego of Max Shreck’s former secretary, who seeks revenge against him. As Batman and Catwoman square off by night, unbeknownst to them their alter egos, Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle, court by day.
The Good Elements:
Strong Production Values
Everything from the design of the Batmobile to the 1930s aesthetic, like vintage microphones at press conferences or the charcoal pin-striped suits and trench coats, creates a full-world Gotham, a comic meshing into real life without heavy CGI. And this Gotham looks straight out of the film Metropolis, with its tall statutes and vintage lettering.
Danny Elfman’s colorful soundtrack, mimicking what I’m calling the “brooding and hijinx” sound of his Batman scores (moaning organs and tinkling xylophone, among other instruments), lends an enjoyable continuity between Returns and ’89.
Lastly, we have to applaud the props of the Penguin, whether it’s his big yellow duck boat or array of spiral umbrellas. How exactly he builds such things in his dark lair is beyond me. He should have gotten a job inventing things rather than becoming a supervillain.
Fun Performances
Michael Keaton returns as Batman. And despite the angry fan backlash to his casting in the ‘89 movie, he works well here as more of an everyman Batman who gets by on gadgets over physical prowess. And the quiet intensity he brings to his Bruce Wayne scenes, as he stares into his TV monitor to see The Penguin’s newest threat or discuss his predicament with his butler, Alfred, works.
Michelle Pfieffer’s performance as Catwoman is the best in the movie. Her wild-eyed, am I dead or am I dreaming madness approach was, shall we say, purrfect.
Danny Devito is not given the best lines, but his plodding Penguin is as vile as the movie role paints him to be.
Lastly, we get Christopher Walken as evil businessman Max Shreck, who glides along looking the part, bringing his New York manner to an evil Gotham magnate.
Dark Fantasy
We have Tim Burton to thank for making Batman ’89 a commercial success that also brought Batman back to respectability on the screen. It took a grittier tone like the ‘80s comics of the day, such as Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One or The Dark Knight Returns (both recommended reading).
This movie went even darker. Dark enough to famously anger McDonald’s over a toy tie-in, as they felt it was unsuitable for kids (remember how I said I was in the theater watching it anyway? Thanks, Dad, for being awesome).
We have themes like the twisted love brewing between Catwoman and Batman and events like the Penguin murdering an innocent woman who Batman cannot save in time. Top of the list might be the film’s start, as The Penguin’s parents, disappointed at him being deformed, slip him into a basket and chuck it into the river.
Winning the award for the most savage moment goes to the scene where the Penguin retaliates by biting a man in the nose – Batman Returns – My Nose Could Be Gushing Blood.
Villain Max Shreck is named after the famous German actor Max Schreck, who played Count Orlok in Nosferatu. No doubt the nod to a vampire movie is intentional.
The Bad Bits:
Questionable Writing
The overall writing of Batman Returns isn’t bad in principle but suffers from flawed execution on the details.
For example, before Selena Kyle’s transformation into Catwoman, she speaks out loud about her failures and dissatisfaction with herself to show the audience she aint having a good time. This kind of heavy-handed dialogue is lazy storytelling. The movie could show this subtly, and the audience would get the idea.
Then there’s the supernatural cat resurrection/transformation of Selena Kyle into Catwoman. It confused me as a kid and still does as an adult. Were the cats coming to eat her, or did they want to help her? Even in the context of a superhero movie, it’s odd (to be fair to Michelle Pfeiffer, her acting in that scene kicks ass).
If the movie wanted to keep it supernatural, fine. But the script could have made Selena Kyle’s transformation more logical. She has a pet cat, but otherwise there’s no connection between her and this pack of wild cats that comes out of nowhere to rescue her from certain death and imbue her with nine lives.
Selena could have fed local cats outside her work or apartment. Then their strange supernatural resurrection might be some creature bond the audience can roll with. Instead, it’s just this stereotypical lonely cat lady with no partner…decides to sew a black leather suit and become a catwoman, of all things.
Lastly, the dialogue can be trite, with lines like “I am Catwoman. Hear me roar” or cringeworthy, such as when The Penguin refers to Catwoman as “Just the pussy I’ve been looking for!” (no wonder McDonald’s complained!)
Goofiness
Sometimes the movie is just plain silly, such as the Penguin’s hapless Red Triangle Gang. They are a bunch of clownish goons who seem appropriate as villains from the camp 60s Batman TV show. The gang practices some sort of clown capoeira fighting style and seems to alternate between punching people in the stomach or aggressively patting them on the back, like a childhood bully giving “noogies”.
In one scene Batman gets rid of a huge Red Triangle Gang member by comically attaching dynamite to him, and he, presumably, explodes off-screen, which is very Wile E. Coyote (Looney Tunes cartoons).
I’d get it if the film had a Pee-wee Herman vibe, but this is the movie where dark black goop falls out of the Penguin’s mouth; so let’s have a gang we can fear here.
If You Like Different, Give it a Shot
The action in Batman Returns feels flat by today’s standards. Because the movie has to balance out screen time among four protagonists/villains, it lacks depth and tension.
Yet while I didn’t truly enjoy rewatching this movie, I can’t help but like it. You have to give it credit for trying to explore twisted themes over lazily cashing in on Batman ’89’s success. Pfieffer’s performance in particular is a lot of fun.
So while this isn’t quite a cult classic, if you’re a fan of Batman or Tim Burton misfits trying to make it in society movies, maybe there’s something in this one for you too.
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