Batman Returns

As we wind up to the new release of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at the previous Big Screen incarnations of both Batman and Superman. I begin with Batman Returns because I already reviewed the original Batman earlier on this blog. This one I was curious to revisit as well, since it always left me a bit cold when I saw it when I was younger and I never quite warmed to it the subsequent times I saw it. It is certainly one of the darkest Batman movies, both literally and figuratively. I suppose one should expect that when you give Tim Burton carte blanche to make the movie he wants, with the writer of Heathers on scripting duties. But much to my surprise, I actually found myself enjoying it much more this time around.

It's Christmas time in Gotham city as a new villain, The Penguin (played by Danny DeVito) is plotting to reign terror down on Gotham City. His gang, the Red Triangle Circus gang, attack the annual tree lighting ceremony, causing a riot in the process. As Batman (played by Michael Keaton) and the police deal with the chaos, Penguin kidnaps prominent businessman Max Schrek (played by Christopher Walken) and blackmails him into helping him become a revered citizen of Gotham. Meanwhile, Schrek's secretary Selina Kyle (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), discovers that the power plant Schrek is trying to build would not so much generate energy as drain it from the city. When Schrek discovers her snooping, he pushes her out a window, intending to kill her. A series of cloth awnings breaks her fall though and she lands on the snowy ground, injured but alive. When she is awoken by a group of alley cats, she returns home and is clearly suffering a mental breakdown. She fashions for herself a vinyl catsuit, reinventing herself as the costumed villain Catwoman.

Viewing the film now as a mostly mature adult, I have to say I enjoyed the film a lot more than I did as a kid. While there were still some nitpicks to be had, on the whole I was able to appreciate the film's darker, more noir sensibility much more. Standing out for me was the burgeoning romance between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, while being at odds as their alter-egos Batman and Catwoman. Also playing better for me this time around was Penguin and Max Schrek's failed attempt to get Penguin elected Mayor during a recall election (although that may have to do with being able to draw parallels to the current Republican primaries circus. I mean Penguin is at least as vile and disgusting as Donald Trump, right?). Tim Burton imbues the film with a strong gothic sensibility matched with film noir style that gives the film a unique feeling all it's own. Likewise, screenwriter Daniel Waters adds a certain darker tone to the film that is unafraid to explore the deeper chasms of the characters that inhabit it, which is both a strength to the film. It is certainly a film that is made for adults and within that context, it's easy to see when I didn't dig it as much as a kid. The film manages to skirt the line between PG-13 and R fairly closely, with sexually suggestive dialogue and increased violence (Selina being pushed out the window leaps to mind as one example, there are others but they would be spoilers).  

Michael Keaton remains as one of the best people to play Batman in his second outing in the role, capturing the conflicted nature of Bruce Wayne better than any actor who has played the role before or since. Likewise, Michelle Pfeiffer plays the definitive Catwoman as far as I'm concerned and does a magnificent job portraying someone who is psychologically melting down as well as someone who is both sexy and dangerous. Danny Devito as Penguin is an inspired choice and gives a great performance, but I feel like they went too far with his character by making him too repulsive and too freakish. I never really feared him and more pitied him.  Maybe that was the point and Max Schrek was supposed to be the real villain, but this rendition of the Penguin remains the one big nitpick of the film in that I was just repulsed by him and that distracted from Devito's performance. I get why they made the choices they did, I just wish they hadn't. Christopher Walken, on the other hand, does another villainous turn and honestly, even at this point it was a role he could play in his sleep. He's basically playing Max Zorin from A View to a Kill again, just with longer hair. It's not a terrible performance by any means, it just didn't blow me away.

Overall, Batman Returns is a comic book film that was clearly made with adults and not kids in mind. While watching the film it becomes readily apparent why parents got into such an uproar over the film when it was released in 1992 and why McDonalds pulled the Happy Meal toys that were supposed to be associated with the film. But that doesn't mean it was a bad film, just one wasn't meant for, nor do I think kids would enjoy nearly as much as adults, at least if my experience is any indication.