So, I hope you all had a good Christmas and I figured I would get a couple of posts in before year is out and so this one is a revisit of a festive film that I watched on Christmas day, so I thought I would take another look at it, which is 1992 superhero film, Batman Returns.
So, this one is said to be a bit of a mixed bag and in the past hasn't been a favourite of mine either in terms of Batman films. So, let's see how it fair 33 years on from its release...
And the usual is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
STORY
So, the films begins with the birth of the son of Tucker (Paul Reubens) and Esther Cobblepot (Diane Salinger), who turns out to be hideously deformed. The Cobblepot's soon
decide that after the child attacks their pet cat that it may become a
menace to society, so they dump the child in its crib into the Gotham
river where it soon floats into an abandoned zoo and is found by a flock
of penguins who raise the child as one of their own.
The film then cuts to 33 years later, during the lighting of Gotham's
Christmas tree, a gangs of circus thugs launch a staged attack but
Batman (Michael Keaton) soon arrives at the scene and subdues the
criminals. Present at the lighting ceremony is corrupt industrialist, Max
Shreck (Christopher Walken) who is soon abducted and taken to the
underground lair of the Penguin (Danny DeVito) a disfigured crime boss, who's body resembles that of a penguin.
The Penguin explains to Shreck that he wants to live again on the
surface of Gotham and become a respected citizen and he blackmails
Shreck into helping him as he shows evidence of Shreck's past dirty dealings.
In the meantime, Shreck's awkward secretary, Selina Kyle (Michelle
Pfeiffer) stumbles upon Shreck's plans to illegally monopolise Gotham's
electricity supply. Shreck on finding her and in order to protect his
secrets, pushes Selina out of a high story window and she falls through
several canopies on the window before landing on the ground, seemingly
dead. At this point a group of cats swarm around her, licking her and
bring her back to life. Selina the goes back to her apartment,
traumatised she then trashes it and fashions herself a black vinyl suit
and why, transforming herself into Catwoman.
The Penguin then with Shreck's help, stages the kidnapping of the son of
Gotham's mayor (Michael Murphy) allowing the Penguin to save him and
bring himself to the surface where now on TV reveals he wants to find
out who he is. The Penguin is then given access to Gotham city's
archives where he learns his real name, Oswald Cobblepot but then is
seen also making a large list of names from the archives. This now
leaves Bruce suspicious of the Penguin's motives as dressed as Batman,
he drives by the archive building and sees Oswald inside. Bruce also
learns that Oswald was previously a member of a circus freak show years
ago.
Meanwhile Bruce persuades the mayor to not provide a permit for Shreck's
power plant, which soons leads to Shreck hatching a plan to replace the
current mayor with the Penguin instead. The Penguin then stages an
attack downtown which ruins the mayor's reputation but while this
happens, Catwoman makes her appearance at Shreck's department store,
which she blows up. Batman at the same time confronts the Penguin who
flees using a propelled umbrella and Batman then pursues Catwoman, who
fights him, which ends with Batman punching her off the roof after she
stabs him in his side with one of her claws and Catwoman survives by
landing in a sand truck.
Catwoman not long after then visits the Penguin where she says she wants
to play a part in a plan to discredit Batman to which the Penguin
agrees as they devise the abduction of Gotham's beauty queen, the Ice
Princess (Cristi Conaway) and plan to frame Batman for it. As the
abduction takes place, Batman soon turns up but he is unable to save the
Ice Princess as the Penguin murders her by using a swarm of captive
bats placed in one of his umbrellas, which causes the Ice Princess to
fall to her death off a rooftop. After this the Penguin tries to make
an amorous advance of Catwoman but she rejects him, which angers the
Penguin who attempts to kill her by using one of his motorised helicopter
umbrellas, which takes her into the sky and she soon falls crashing
into a greenhouse, which uses up one of her nine lives.
In the meantime as Batman leaves the scene in his batmobile he discovers
that it has been sabotaged by the Penguin, who takes remote control of
it and drives the vehicle wildly on the streets in a rampage. Batman
then records the Penguin's threats and mocking remarks onto a CD and
soon detects the location of the control device and removes it, taking
control of the batmobile again he escapes. Not long after this, Bruce
using the recording of the Penguin's words, hacks into the PA system
during the Penguin's public speech and plays them over the speaker
system, which ruins the Penguin's public reputation, which angers him
and he flees to the sewers. The Penguin then continues with his original plan to
snatch the first born sons of Gotham's citizens where he then intends
to drown them.
Bruce not longer after attends a masquerade ball where he meets Selina
again and by accident they discover each other's secret identities but
at this points the Penguin gatecrashes the ball and abducts Shreck (at
Shreck's own pleas in place of his first born son, Chip). However
Batman soon thwarts the Penguin's nefarious plan so the webbed foot
madman goes for plan B, which is to use his penguins wired up with
rockets to launch an assault on Gotham. And its from here Batman must
find a way to stop the Penguin from carrying out his wicked plan and
save Gotham....
THOUGHTS
It has to be said that after the huge success of Batman, Batman Returns
is a bit of a mixed bag and fails to live up to the standard of its predecessor and Burton himself, who initially had no
plans to come back to do a sequel, was given full creative reign to do
what he liked in the sequel but I think this was to the film's
detriment. The film also has a much darker tone than the first one and
it sees Burton give his own take on the Penguin, rather than leaving him
as the portly squat figure that we usually are used to seeing, he
decides to turn him into a more grotesque one.
And Batman here as a character actually feels a bit more sidelined than
we would like as he appears to play a supporting character to film
itself and at times you feel the film just happens around him rather
have him be the main focus. So for me the film remains an inconsistent
hotchpotch of ideas and themes that don't quite gel well together. But
despite this, the film still has some good moments here and there even
if it isn't an altogether satisfactory one.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning this section may contain spoilers!)
As for the performances, they are actually for the most part very good.
Starting with Michael Keaton who does a pretty good job as Batman
but his Bruce Wayne has always been a bit underwhelming and I think his
performance lacks the charisma needed to play the part of Wayne.
Keaton's Batman however is certainly way better and there even moments
where you feel that he is perfect in the role.
And Keaton still has some good moments in the film that include Batman's
first scene where he subdues the Penguin's gang. And in the scene
there is a moment where one of the gang, grabs Selina and holds a taser
to her neck and he threatens Batman not to come any closer. So Batman
then fires his grapple gun into the wall behind the thug who looks back
and grins saying "You missed!" but then Batman yanks the grapple line
which pulls out a chunk of the wall and hits the thug in the back of the
head, knocking him out.
Then there is the scene where Bruce in the Batcave reads up articles
from his computer on a circus gang that the Penguin may have been
connected to. And Bruce reads form the article "Featuring a poodle
lady, the world's fattest man... and an aquatic bird boy.". And this
prompts Alfred why is Bruce so interested in proving the Penguin isn't
what he seems and Bruce continues to read ""... circus folded its tents
yesterday, perhaps forever after numerous
reports of missing children. In several towns, police have closed down
the Red Triangle's fairgrounds, however at least one freak show
performer vanished before he could be questioned". And Alfred then says
"I suppose you feel better now, sir" but Bruce then says "No, actually I
feel worse".
Another good scene from Keaton is when Batman confronts the Penguin
during a staged attack and he says to the Penguin "Admiring your handiwork?" and the Penguin says that he is gravely assessing the
devastation and "upstanding mayor stuff!" prompting Batman to say
"You're not the mayor" and Penguin replies "Things change!". And Batman
asks "What do you want?" and the Penguin says "Ah the direct approach!
I admire that from a man who wears a mask? You don't really think
you'll win, do you?" and Batman smiles slightly and says "Things
change".
Then there is the scene when Bruce and Selina meet up at his place and Bruce awkwardly tries to tell Selina in a cryptic way about his dual personality. So, Bruce says to Selina "See, if I say yes about my personality, you're gonna think of me as some Ted Bundy, psycho type and well...you might not let me kiss you". However, Selina not phased says "It doesn't bother me, its the so-called good guys that always let you down, at least sickos are committed". So, as they start to kiss and touch each other although they start to
unwittingly reach and touch the wounds they sustained during their fight
as Batman and Catwoman and they suddenly jump apart. And at this
moment Selina says "I can't do that!" and Bruce awkwardly says "Me
neither!".
After this Bruce sees the news of the Ice Princess's kidnapping and he
runs off to Alfred and tries to give him an excuse for his departure
"Here's what I want you to do... tell Selina - tell Miss Kyle in there -
tell her, uh, tell her I had to go out of town, a big business deal came
up or some... no, you know what? Tell her, you know, not in some dumb,
"be my girlfriend" kind of way...". And Alfred simply says "I will
relay the message" and Bruce says "Great" and then runs off to the
Batcave.
And lastly there is the scene when Batman confronts Selina over her
actions as she attempts to Shreck near the end of the film. Before that though, Batman delivers one of the best lines when he turns up and Shreck relieved to see him says "You're not only saving a friend but..." and Batman shoves him back and says "Shut up! You're going to jail!".
So, Batman,
talking to her as Bruce says "Why don't we just take Shreck to the
police and go home? Selina, please don't you see? We're both the
same....split right down the centre" and he rips off his mask, revealing
himself to her. And Selina says "Bruce... I would - I would love to
live with you in your castle... forever, just like in a fairy tale.... "
and as Bruce reaches out to her she suddenly lashes out and slashes his
face with her cat claws and she yells "I just couldn't live with
myself, so don't pretend this is a happy ending!".
Michelle Pfeiffer is excellent in her dual role as Selina Kyle
and Catwoman and even though its pretty superficial at times she occasionally manages to show Selina's struggle with her own personality
after she becomes Catwoman and she becomes intent on getting revenge
over Shreck. And Michelle also manages to play Catwoman's anti-heroic
qualities perfectly well as well as imbue the character's sexiness and
there's simply no getting round the fact that Michelle looks rather sexy in that vinyl suit! ;-)
Michelle also has some good moments in the film and some of the film's
best (or better) lines and her good scenes include the one where she
first appears at Catwoman on the streets as she stops a mugger from
assaulting a woman. And in the scene Catwoman says to the mugger "Be
gentle, its my first time!" and she efficiently manages to kick the
mugger's ass and slashes at his face with her claws. And as the woman
is about to thank Catwoman, Catwoman grabs her by the throat and says
"You woman are so easy, aren't you?
I am Catwoman. Hear me roar!" and the somersaults away (although since
when did a cat ever roar?!).
Another good scene is when Catwoman fights with Batman up ontop of the
rooftops but before that she announces herself to Batman and the Penguin
just after she rigged Shreck's store to blow and she says to them
"Meow!" just before the store explodes. And in the next moment,
Catwoman and Batman fight and in self defence Batman punches and she
falls down, hurt she says "How could you?! I'm a woman!" and Batman
apologies but she fights him again.
And then she dangles Batman from a rooftop using her whip she says to
him "As I was saying, I'm a woman and can't be taken for granted. Life's
a bitch, now so am I!" and Batman uses a napalm device to disable her.
And after they fight Batman lifts her back up on the roof and she asks
"Who are you? Who is the man behind the bat?" and she then stabs him in
his side with her claw, which prompts Batman to punch her off the roof
and she lands below in a sand truck and she says to herself "Saved by
kitty litter!" and laugh saying "Bastard!".
Then there is the scene where Catwoman invites herself into the
Penguin's lair and she lies on his bed and says "Its chilly in
here!" and the Penguin suggestively says "I'll warm you!" and Catwoman puts her foot on him and says "Don't Oswald!". And as the two of them toy with each other, Catwoman says to
the Penguin "Batman napalmed my arm, he knocked me off a building just
when I was
starting to feel good about myself. I wanna play an integral part in his
degradation. I want in. The thought of busting Batman makes me feel
all... dirty. Maybe I'll just give myself a bath right here!" and she
proceeds to lick her hand with her tongue and rub it around the top of
her masked head (weird!).
Another good moment is when Selina meets up with Bruce for a date at his
place and he awkwardly tells her that if he reveals the truth about
himself that "You might think I'm some sort of Norman Bates, Ted Bundy
type and....you won't let me kiss you". And Selina looks indefferently
at him and says "It's the so-called "normal" guys who always let you
down. Sickos never scare me. Least they're committed" and Selina
suddenly leans in and kisses Bruce.
Then there is the scene where Selina and Bruce meet up again at the masquerade ball and they dance slowly with each other as Selina reveals she has a gun and plans to kill Shreck, which is one of Pfieffer's best scenes. So, as they dance Selina asks "So, why did you come here?" and Bruce says "To see you" and Selian says "That's nice. I wish I could say the same but I'm here for Max". Bruce a bit confused asks "What, you mean you and Max?" and Selina laughs loudly and says "No!" and she pulls out a gun and says "THIS and Max!" and she holds the gun at Bruce and says "Now don't give me a "killing Max won't solve anything" speech! Aren't you tired of the same old, sanctimonious speeches from a guy above ground when he should be six feet under it?!". So, Bruce stunned asks Selina "Who do you think you are?" and Selina a bit confused and emotional says "I don't know who I am, Bruce" and she laughs dementedly.
So, as they dance, Selina looks up at the ceiling and sees mistletoe and she says to Bruce "A kiss under the mistletoe. You know, mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it" and Bruce says "But a kiss can be even deadlier.....if you mean it" and they both look each other realising their secret identities. So, they continue to dance as Selina says in surprise "Oh, my God. Does this mean we have to start fighting?!".
Last of all is the scene where Selina reveals herself to Shreck in the Penguin's lair as she takes her mask off and Shreck says "Selina, Selina Kyle! You're fired!". Shreck then looks at Bruce, unmasked as Batman and asks "And Bruce Wayne, why are you dressed up like Batman?" and Selina says "Because he IS Batman, you moron!" and Shreck aims his gun at Bruce and says "Was!" and shoots him. Selina then says to Shreck "You killed me, Penguin killed me, Batman killed me, you think you've got enough in their to finish me off??!" and Shreck says "One way to find out" and he shoots the gun twice. So, Selina painfully whinces and twirls her whip and says "Four, five!" and he furiously whips at Shreck "STILL ALIVE!". Shreck then shoots her twice more and Selina painfully limps and says "Six, seven, all good little girls go to heaven" and she nears him as Shreck points the gun at her stomach and it clicks empty. Selina then bursts out laughing and says "Two lives left. I think I'll save one for next Christmas. In the meantime, how a bout a kiss Santy Clause?!". So, she purses her lips against her taser and Max's lips while holding on a power cable, which basically electrocutes Shreck.
Danny DeVito also does well enough as the Penguin even if he
plays the part a bit of character for the actual role of the Penguin as
he plays him morely as a psychotic leering pervert, which makes it much
harder to actually bother to sympathise with him.
Regardless of that DeVito does have some good scenes that include his
first main one where the Penguin has Shreck brought to his undergound
lair. And as Shreck sees Penguin for the first time he says to Shreck
"I believe the word you're looking for is......AGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!".
And in the scene Penguin blackmails Shreck into helping with his plan to
ascend above and become a citizen of Gotham. And the Penguin says to
Shreck of his late business partner, Fred Atkins, as he produces his
dead partner's severed hand "Hi, Max! Remember me? I'm Fred's hand! You
wanna greet any other body parts? Remember, Max. You flush it. I flaunt
it!".
Then there is the scene where Catwoman meets with the Penguin to hatch a
plan to discredit Batman and he leering walks into the room and says to
her "Just the pussy I've been looking for!". And in the scene Catwoman
says to the Penguin that they have something in common and the Penguin
asks "Sounds familiar. Appetite for destruction? Contempt for the czars
of fashion? Wait, don't tell me... naked sexual charisma!" and Catwoman
says to him "Batman!". And as Catwoman says she wants to play the part
in Batman's downfall, the Penguin lies on his bed and says "A plan is
forming!" and he puts his webbed hands together and creates the shadow
of a bat against the ceiling.
Another scene worth mentioning is when Batman confronts the Penguin and
Batman says to him "admiring your handwork?" and the Penguin says
"Touring the riot scene. Gravely assessing the devastation. Upstanding
mayor stuff!". And Batman says to him "You're not the mayor" and the
Penguin menacingly says to him "Things change!". And as Batman asks
what does he want, the Penguin says "Ah, the direct approach. I admire
that in a man with a mask!" and he says seriously "You don't really
think you'll win, do you?!" and Batman says "Things change". And as
Catwoman appears and says "Meow" and Shreck's department store blows up,
the Penguin says to Bats "I saw her first. Gotta fly!" and he uses his
motorised helicopter umbrella to fly away.
Then there is the scene where the Penguin pours some bubbly for her and Catwoman but she is a bit taken aback at him killing the Princess and she says "I thought you were going to scare the Ice Princess" and Penguin says "She looked pretty scared to me!". So, Penguin then makes leering advances on
Catwoman but she rejects him saying "Oh, please I wouldn't touch you to
scratch you!". And this angers the Penguin who shouts "Ya lousy minx! I
oughta have you spayed! You sent out all the signals and I don't think
I like you anymore!" and he hooks his helicopter umbrella around her
neck and opens it sending Catwoman flying up in the air and he looks at
her saying "Goodbye, my unintended, to go Heaven!".
Then there is the scene where the Penguin addresses the crowd
during his speech which is sabotaged by Bruce who hacks into the PA and
plays the recording of Penguin saying "You gotta admit I played this
stinkin' city like a harp from hell!" and he repeats it over and over
and this prompts the crowd to boo at him. And then the crowd start to
throw tomatoes, eggs and peeled cabbage at him and he puts up his
umbrella to defend himself saying "Why is there always someone who
brings eggs and tomatoes to a speech?!!".
Another scene is where the Penguin furiously returns to his lair after being disgraced live on TV by Bruce's recording of the Penguin's own words. So, in the scene, Penguins returns to his lair and one of his goons says "Good speech, Oswald" and the Penguin yells "My name is not Oswald, I am Penguin!! I am not a human being, I am an animal!!". So, he gives out his papers of the names of the first born sons of Gotham to his goons and says "And I will toss them all in a watery grave!!". However one of his clowns says "Uhh Penguin? Killing sleeping children, isn't that a little..." and Penguin annoyed grabs a gun umbrella and shoots him dead and says "No! Its a lot!" and kicks the clown's body into the water.
Last of all is the scene where Oswald's first born plan is foiled by Batman, so he goes to plan B where he has his army of penguins armed with rockets and he addresses them all. So, the Penguin says to them "My dear penguins, we stand on a great threshold! It's okay to be scared; many of you won't be coming back. Thanks to Batman, the time has come to punish all God's children! 1st, 2nd, 3rd *and* 4th-born! Why be biased? Male and female! Hell, the sexes are equal with their erogenous zones blown sky high! Forward march! The liberation of Gotham has begun!".
Christopher Walken is also very good in his role as the
corrupt businessman, Max Shreck and his sinister gravelling voice does help to make
him a bit more threatening in certain moments.
Walken also has some good moments that include the scene where Shreck
addresses the crowd near the start of the film but he hasn't his speech
as Selina forgot to give it to him and he mutters to his son, Chip
(Andrew Bryniarski) "Forgotten my speech, remind me to take it out on
what's her name...". And Shreck says to the crowd "I'm just some poor
schmoe that got lucky and sue me if I wan't to given some more back!"
and he receives much applause and he continues "I wish I could hand more
than just expensive bobbles. I wish I could hand out World Peace and
Unconditional Love, wrapped in a big bow!".
Then there is the scene where Shreck catches Selina spying into his
private files and he says to her menacingly "What did curiosity do to
the cat???". And Shreck warns her "This power plant is my legacy, what I
leave behind for Chip. NOTHING must prevent that!" and Selina says he
can bully and intimidate her if he likes and "Its not like you can just
kill me!" and Shreck says to her "Actually, its ALOT like that!". And
he leans towards her menacingly but then pulls back smiling and Selina
laughs with relief saying "You had me for a second there..." and then
Shreck gives a fake smile and without warning pushes her out the window.
Another good scene comes when Shreck meets with Bruce who opposes his
power plant plan and all of a sudden Selina reappears as Shreck is about
to see Bruce out and he looks stunned at her appearance. And Shreck
feebly tries to make an excuse for the cut on her head after her fall
when Bruce asks about it "
Did you injure yourself on that ski slope? Is that why you cut short
your vacation and came back?". And after Selina sees Bruce out, Chip
asks Shreck if she buys Selina's excuse of a "blur or amnesia" and
Shreck says "Women. Nothing surprises me, Chip, except your late mother.
Who'd have
thought Selina had a brain to damage. Bottom line, she tries to
blackmail me, I'll drop her out a higher window. Meantime, I got better
fish to fry!".
And lastly there is the moment where Selina reveals herself to Shreck as
Catwoman, she takes off her mask and Shreck says to her "Selina?
Selina Kyle! You're fired!". And Shreck looks to Bruce, who has ripped
off his Batman mask at this point and he says to him "And Bruce Wayne?
What are you doing dressed up as Batman????!" and Selina says "Cos he
IS Batman, you moron!" and Shreck aims his gun at Bruce and says "Was!"
and shoots him.
And lastly Michael Gough reprises his role nicely as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's trusted butler and confidant who helps him.
And Gough has some good moments too that include his first scene where
Alfred, carrying bags is stopped by a paperboy and he says to the boy
"My dear boy. Sometimes it is a diversion to read such rubbish, but
most of the time its a waste of time!" and he walks off leaving the
paperboy indifferently saying "Whatever!".
And lastly (to keep this brief!) there is the scene when Bruce and
Selina both separately speak to Alfred, both looking for excuses to give
each other for why they have to suddenly leave. And to Bruce, Alfred
says to him as Bruce fumbles for an excuse "I will relay the message!".
And then Alfred goes to Selina and says "Miss Kyle, Mr Wayne told me to
tell you....." and as Selina fumbles to make an excuse she asks "Could
you just make up a sonnet or something? A dirty limerick?" and Alfred
says to her "One has just sprung to mind!" and Selina says "Thanks" and
runs out.
DIRECTION
As for the film's director, Tim Burton, he does a decent job but
the problem is that he has been given a bit too much license to do what
he wants with the film so it is filled with all sorts of weird and
whacky ideas and sequences that we all too readily associate with
Burton, which don't quite fit the Batman universe imo.
Regardless of that though there is no denying that Burton's visual style
is incredible and he knows how to make a film look lavish and stunning
as for the most part Batman Returns looks just that with large sets and
unique visual style and its 80 million dollar budget is evident for all
to see. Burton also does a reasonable job with the action in the film
too but for me there isn't quite enough of it here but of what there is
its ok and Batman's fight scenes with Catwoman are highlights as are
their little moments of biplay.
MUSIC
As for the music the score was again done by Danny Elfman, who provides a
pretty decent score for the film but it isn't in the same class as his
first one, which for me personally is one of my favourite film scores.
However the score still has some nice moments in it such as the opening
scene where the Cobblepots decide to get rid of their son and the
playful theme for Catwoman as she breaks into Shreck's department
store. Also the title theme is also pretty good in its build up for the motif of theme itself. So while overall its not one of Elfman's best scores its still a fairly good one.
The soundtrack also includes a track "Face to Face" by Siousxie and the
Banshees, which is partly used in the scene where Bruce and Selina dance
at the Masquerade ball and its actually not a bad track and way better
than some of the stuff that Prince featured in the first film. And one
of the film's best points is the fact that it doesn't overly rely on
using extra artists music to fill up the soundtrack, which is kept
minimal here so well done to Burton there.
Its also worth mentioning that this was the first film to use the
surround sound format, Dolby Digital, which introduced the use of five
separate channels of sound and an additional subwoofer for bass
frequencies (i.e. the subwoofer gives more oomph to explosions and
rumbling noises in films). So from a technical point of view, Batman
Returns is something of an innovation and set the blueprint for future
surround sound films.
FLAWS (Warning this section may also contain one or two spoilers!)
As for Batman Returns flaws.... yeah it does have some worth mentioning
and for starters it has to be said that the film's much darker tone from
the first one is one of the aspects I didn't like about it. And as I
previously said it felt like Tim Burton was given too much freedom to do
what he wanted in the film and make it as weird and whacky as he
wanted.
In fact one good example of this is having a small poodle dog carry a grenade in its mouth into a store and running out in time just before the store is blown up. Now, this is just stupid on a number of levels, I mean how would the dog pull out the pin of the grenade? Also, how did it manage to get out in time just before it exploded anyway? Also, this is perhaps the single cringiest moment in the film for me regardless and I never liked it as its just dumb as hell.
It also introduced some pretty disturbing ideas into the story,
particularly the subplot where the Penguin plans to kidnap all the first
born sons of Gotham and drown them in chemical sludge in his
underground lair. I mean that is pretty strong stuff for a Batman film
that is allegedly and supposedly targeted at family audiences. And in
the scene where the children are seen snatched almost resembles
something out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where the main villain, the
Child Catcher snatches children off the streets. Thankfully Batman
quickly manages to put the Penguin's horrendous plan out of action as he
rescues the children.
I also felt the film blurred the lines a bit between when Catwoman lost
one of her 9 lives as there are certainly some instances when she
wouldn't necessarily have died. And one such instance is the one where
Batman punches Catwoman off the roof after she stabs him and she lands
safely (and rather conveniently at that!) into a sand truck and she
later claims that Batman had killed her as a result, losing one of her 9
lives, however she wouldn't necessarily have been killed by this
although just maybe she might have done, who knows???
And further to this point when Shreck shoots Selina later on in the
Penguin's underground lair, he shoots her in non vital organs but she
claims each bullet as a lost life but again these are not necessarily
fatal wounds and would count as one of her lives lost. So there is a
pretty daft logic involved here (or a lack of) where Selina could have
lost one of her lives and when she really didn't but yeah she sure
somehow (SPOILER!!!) manages to survive frying Shreck using the taser to
kiss him while holding onto a power cable attached to a electrical
generator. Yep you can survive that for sure!
Another problem with the film that I had was to do with the idea of
Batman killing people as here onscreen you clearly see him kill two bad
guys. And the two in question are a fire breather, which he sets on
fire with the exhaust from his Batmobile and the other a big burly
circus man who Batman attaches dynamite to and he punches him into a
manhole and as Batman walks on, we see the explosion come up from
below. I mean this really violates the whole moral code of Batman's
character as in the comic books he never killed anyone (nor does he in
the video games) and Nolan later got Batman's morality right but here
Burton is just happy for the dark knight to get blood on his hands. So
this again never really sat right for me although Zack Snyder has
followed suit with his version of the dark knight in Batman vs Superman,
but for me it never sat well that Batman should be a killer.
I also felt that while the film's sets and its overall design is very
impressive at the same time it really scales down Gotham to being more
like a big village than an actual city and when you look at the small
amount extras in the film it doesn't seem that populated for a big city
either! And the scenes that we do see people on the streets of Gotham
in it feels like they are just walking around a town square and not a
city. So for me I think Burton should have represented Gotham better as
an actual city as opposed to just using big expansive sets.
And further to the whole Selina/Catwoman thing I also thought it was a
pretty stupid idea how Selina would somehow be revived by cats after
being pushed out of a high story window when she most definitely would
be dead from the impact of the fall anyway. In that instance I'm pretty
sure cats licking her hands and face isn't going to revive her from
that one! Not only that after Selina becomes Catwoman she all of a
sudden has developed some kung-fu moves and has become a world class
acrobat who can climb, jump and somersault all over the place! I mean
that cat saliva must have some serious regenerative powers that can
bring anyone back from the dead, not to mention turn them into world
class athletes with martial arts skills!!
I also felt the film's climax (SPOILER!!) was a bit of a letdown with
the Penguin's ridiculous back-up plan of using his penguins to launch a
rocket assault on Gotham, it just seemed a really stupid and whacky idea
that ultimately, thanks to Batman, falls flat on its face (rather like a
penguin!). And that also brings up the point as to how did the Penguin
suddenly get swarmed by a bunch of bats just before he died???? I mean
they seem to appear out of nowhere from behind the Batmobile, not
unless Batman summoned them somehow, but it just seems a bit convenient
that the bats come out of nowhere right at the moment to kill off the
main villain!
And last of all the film is also known for that one scene which has a
big continuity error where Bruce tears off his Batman mask to reveal
himself to Selina. However when Bruce does it in the moment before we
see that he is wearing eyeliner under his Batman mask but when he rips
off the mask the eyeliner has been removed. And it kind of begs the
question: why did they not redesign the mask so they didn't need to use
eyeliner in the first place??? Perhaps it might be because they didn't
want to make the eye slits for the mask too narrow or that would be
uncomfortable for Michael Keaton, but if it wouldn't be then there is no
real reason for Batman to wear eyeliner in the first place!
Anyway that is for the flaws.
SUM UP
So in summing up, Batman Returns while its not a bad film, it is a bit of a letdown as a follow up to Burton's acclaimed first film. Overall I
think Burton had too much creative control given to him and it showed in
the film with its overly dark tones, weird characters and twisted
subplots that don't quite stack up.
It does have some good moments however here and there and
Michelle Pfeiffer is very good as Catwoman/Selina Kyle and her scenes
with Batman work well and she does a good job at showing Selina's struggles with her dual personality. Then there is are also some nice touches elsewhere and
the film's set design and visuals are very impressive and Elfman's
score is a pretty decent one.
But in the end I think there are far better Batman films than Batman
Returns, which while its not the worst Batman film of all it sure isn't
the best one either and for that reason while its fairly entertaining in places, it just doesn't work as a whole.
So, I will give Batman Returns:
6 out of 10
So, that's it for this one and I will be back soon with another post before the New Year.
So, until then its bye for now!
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