Tim Burton's Batman was a critical and financial success (and better yet, created massive amounts of merchandise), so a sequel was never in any doubt. But with the Joker dead, where would the franchise go next? Well, if one villain was good, two are even better! And thus, Batman Returns set the scene for the escalation of super villains in sequels. Here's our thoughts.
Director: Tim Burton
Writer: Daniel Waters, Sam Hamm
Starring: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfieffer, Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken
Release: 1992
Many years before, the Cobblepots, a incredibly wealthy Gotham family, had a problem. Their new-born son was deformed, suffering from a condition that fused his fingers together. Not only that, but he was a vicious creature, intent on killing. Horrified at having spawned a true monster, his parents attempted to dispose of the child by throwing him into the river. But the child did not die, and instead was carried through the storm drains and sewers to be raised by a group of penguins (because Gotham has a colony of penguins now).
33 years later, the child has reached maturity. He is seen as a myth, nothing but an urban legend but he emerges into Gotham, intent on vengeance. Dubbed 'the Penguin', he comes to the attention of Batman after he joins forces with a local industrialist, Max Shreck, and runs for mayor. But the Penguin's plans are much more sinister – he intends to kidnap and slaughter the children of the wealthy members of Gotham society.
Batman attempts to stop the evil plot but has to deal with another figure on the scene – a mysterious leather-clad woman calling herself Catwoman, who seems to be entering both of his dual lives. But is she a friend – or a foe?
THE SQUEE
- First off, Tim Burton delivers an amazing Gothic film that combines the unsettling elements of German Expressionism with massive stunt-based action sequences. It makes for one of the most stylistic comic book movies ever, drawing on a number of strong themes of parentage and family, disguises and masks and the animal tendencies of humans. There's references to classic Expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu, as well as other films of the era like King Kong and Frankenstein, not to mention more modern horror movies, creating an incredibly dark story so at odds with the comic book style and main characters. It's a real return to Batman's roots in the 1930's.
- The cast. Oh my god this cast! I raved about Keaton in the last Movie Monday, and Pfieffer and DeVito play off him perfectly (purrfectly in Pfieffer case ha ha). Batman films have a tendency to lean towards hamminess – we'll see that more in Batman Forever. DeVito could have gone completely overboard but instead he portrays the Penguin with an amazing amount of pathos for a character that is forever an unrepentant monster. Pfeiffer, as always, is outstanding, playing the slightly crazy Catwoman.
- Christopher Walken. He gets his own section because he is a gem. As the evil capitalist Max Shreck, he perfectly mixes ominously creepy with viciously manipulative. He's somewhat otherworldly, in true Walken style, pausing... at... odd places when he... talks. Somehow, they also found someone to play his son, who imitates the style superbly! Props to Andrew Bryniarski for that.
- Once again, the score. Danny Elfman proves that he is simply one of the best composers in the business.
- The dialogue is just so appropriate for an over-the-top superhero film, heavy on alliteration and the entire cast is able to deliver the lines without making it seem too cheesy.
THE SUCK
- Unfortunately, the emphasis the film has on the other characters means that Batman is only occasionally present in the film. I've heard it referred to as 'Batman Returns for About Twenty Minutes'. The characters with the active story arcs are Shreck, Catwoman and Penguin. Batman is just kinda there. He doesn't really have much agency in his own film. The first film had his origin and quest for justice. Now he's pretty much hanging around, reacting to everybody else's actions. It doesn't make him a boring character, but he doesn't have any particular motivation beyond 'crime = bad'.
- There is a lot of dissonance between different elements of the film. The dark, overtly sexual tone in some scenes is heavily undermined by the reliance on (at times) almost campy plot-devices – the Penguin's trick umbrellas spring to mind. Stylistically, the film is superb, but that can also be a drawback. When the Penguin takes control of the Batmobile, he does so in what looks a coin-operated version of the said vehicle – it's great for the visuals because of that connection, but why does he have that? Just to pretend that he's driving the Batmobile? Is this what he does in his downtime? There are cheesy puns aplenty in the middle of vicious threats. The film is better than that and it's clear that there was a strong attempt to make the film more accessible to the 'family' market. This is NOT a family film (neither was the first one, despite the massive toy tie-ins). The film has the dark fantasy style that Burton excels at but it's a distinctly adult theme and the Batman elements feel like they're drawn more from the 1960's series than anything that resembles the comics series.
- There's not particularly much tension in any of the major sequences. Batman saves the day because, er, Batman, I guess. There's a problem, he overcomes it immediately – Penguin frames him for murder, he immediately reveals Penguin's true nature to Gotham City. There are mind-controlled penguins with rocket-launchers (yes, really), I'll just dodge them, the end. Probably the moment with the most suspense occurs midway through the film when Batman loses control of the Batmobile, but for the rest, there's never really any threat. Even his sitcom-like secret identity shenanigans with Selina Kyle are more wacky than filled with tension.
OK, yes, the film suffered from meddling to make it more marketable to families. It was a financial and critical success but unfortunately it didn't do what executives wanted it to, which was sell toys. This isn't a film for children. It's a film of twisted sexuality and violence, and Batman feels like a child entering an adult world. Probably the strongest scenes Batman has are his interactions with Catwoman but those are underused in favour of what can only be described as silliness. More's the pity, that's what was emphasised in the next films in the franchise, rather than the amazing style that Burton brought to the character.
What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Anything to say about what we've got coming next week? And remember to get your entries for Bat-May in!
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