Batmans Rückkehr

Very rarely do movie sequels ever match the grandeur of the originals. BATMAN RETURNS however, does so with gusto. The sequel to 1989's BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS neither milks the success of the first movie nor totally disregards it; it's a wonderful sequel and a spectacular movie in its own right. There's something for everyone in this movie - humor, high drama, plenty of action, and lots of cool things to look at. Of course, viewers have to get around Tim Burton's morbid and sometimes offensive sense of humor, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem in this era of SOUTH PARK and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. While the movie has many great moments, it also has its flaws. The plot seems rushed, stitched together. Danny DeVito tries his best as the Penguin but doesn't quite pull it off. Christopher Walken appears as a secondary bad guy, but his performance is lackluster compared to the others. And many of the action sequences, though breathtaking, seemed forced and are occasionally absurd. All that aside, there's all kinds of surprises in this movie - smart humor and dialogue, characters you can't help but love, lots of satire (Homer's Iliad, CITIZEN KANE, and the American political scene are all lampooned), and many memorable scenes that only serve as a testament to Burton's colorful imagination. I hope to get this movie on DVD, where I can enjoy it on my big screen TV in all its glory. Not exactly the best Batman film ever, but still a fascinating movie to watch over and over again.

There were a lot of things that were excellent about this movie, like the cinematography and the performances, though it isn't as good as the first film. Michael Keaten is suitably brooding as the Dark Knight, better than George Clooney in Batman and Robin (considered as the worst out the franchise)though he is overshadowed by the villains, namely Danny DeVito as the Penguin, who looked as though he was having a ball, and brought a sense of sadness and grotesquesness to the role. Christopher Walken was effective also as Max Schrek. Stealing the show, with her flawless delivery of not-so special lines, is Michelle Pfeiffer as the sexy and manipulative Catwoman. The film looks lovely, with the sets and effects, and Tim Burton directs with detail. However the film does drag, and while there are some intelligent lines from the villains, the script could have been developed a little more. All in all, a dark and entertaining film. Whereas Batman Forever is funnier and more fast paced, Batman Returns is darker, but just lacks the sophistication of the first film. 8/10 Bethany Cox.

Ah, heres a movie I remember fondly from my childhood. Man I had it all, the toys, the McDonald's happy meal toys (not to mention those cool large plastic McDonald's cups my mom bought me) the sega video game, the trading cards, the t shirts, the batmobile candy dispensers, all kinds of neat merch based on the movie. of course in retrospect, this is not at all a kids movie, despite the fact its batman and was aimed at kids who bought happy meals. but that doesn't mean its not a great movie. not every superhero movie has to cater strictly to the kids. nevertheless, my 6 year old self was too in love with batman to care about how dark it was, I still loved anything and everything having to do with my favorite superhero and I must have watched this movie, along with the other 2 movies (1989 batman and batman forever) a zillion times on video.

here's the premise. Batman truly does Return in this sequel to the 1989 mega hit, and this time hes better then ever. hes got some new toys (like the electronic self-targeting Baterang), vehicles and even has 2 new classic villains to contend with.

penguin is a classic Tim Burton character in this one, but that can only be a good thing. in this movie, Burton makes the characters very ambiguous. is the penguin really half animal, half human? is cat woman part cat, part woman? these questions never really get answered. personally, i don't believe they are part animal at all. the penguin is all human albeit a VERY deformed and ugly one, and is only called Penguin because of his deformities. Catwoman is always human but the whole "9 lives" thing makes it ambiguous whether she has supernatural powers or whether shes just very lucky. its debatable. Batman is the only normal guy in this. in fact, Keaton being the calm cool hero both as Bruce Wayne and batman, grounds the movie and keeps it together whereas the 2 villains are completely crazy and psychotic nut cases. it seemed Keaton didn't have it all together in the last movie, he had a a lot of demons to fight with, but by the end you got the feeling he found his purpose in life, now that hes got a bat-signal and the law on his side. so naturally, in this one he seems more together and knows what hes doing. its the villains who are not together and have all these obvious mental problems, so much so that they actually make batman look normal. if it was anyone else playing batman, it wouldn't have worked. but Michael Keaton has a unique screen presence that when he puts on the bat suit, he literally IS batman and lets face it, no one before or since has had the manly swagger that Michael Keaton had as batman. he was a bit older, getting some greys, was this sort of gruff everyman but has this seriousness and "normal guy" look that makes you take him seriously as batman. other actors who have played batman seem too pretty boy or hand picked and thus don't feel real. Keaton is like the everyman normal looking 40 year old gruff guy and he demands you take him seriously. this is a very artsy film, compared to its blockbuster brother from 1989, which was basically a cut-&-dry blockbuster action/adventure. but it really didn't have any emotion or depth to it, despite Keaton's sincere efforts. Thats where Returns comes in. all the characters are very interesting and in a way, they all echo Batman. Catwoman is the dark vigilante side of him, while the Penguin shows what Bruce Wayne could have been if he turned bitter against the world.

I've heard many ppl say that this batman film is not really about Batman himself, and that too much attention is given to the villains, but i will say again, its not a bad thing, and doesn't ruin this film. batman himself is really not a very interesting character when you think about it. hes essentially a guy who's see's his parents get killed as a kid, he trains for X years, then decides to becomes batman for revenge purposes. OK. thats it. there's no more to it really. certainly not something i want to watch for a whole 2 hours. i really didn't see a point in making a whole movie about his origin a couple years ago, i think it was a waste. i was always kinda hoping they would bring back the Burton style of filmaking for batman movies, or maybe even get Burton back to direct. but alas, we got something that felt like a lesser version of the 1989 film. sad. but hey, we always have the Tim Burton films to enjoy. those, IMO, captured the real batman, beyond the facade of "comic book" movie looks (which, in Burton's case, is actually a good thing). as far as i'm concerned, Burton is the only guy to have directed Batman movies. hes the only one who i believed truly understood batman, as you can see in his various films. the other directors never really...got it. they just don't get batman. they only got him as a character, thats it. but Burton KNEW batman, he understood his plight in life, and the darkness inherent in the material. thats why this is to me, the best, and most personal, Batman film. it shows batman, and his villains, at there most raw. they are all hurt individuals, and thats what makes this film so powerful. this is what a batman film should be. serious, witty, playful, phycological, and DARK. while still retaining the comic book style that we all expect. this film also paved the way for the wonderful Batman: The Animated Series, which also shares Tim Burton's dark, Gothic look and feel from both of his Batman films. it even uses the same theme!

As a life-long mega Bat-fan, I thought that Batman Returns did the best job (of all four films) of portraying the Dark Knight. Sure, the 1989's Batman was great, but it was lopsided; it might as well have been called "Joker" considering the focus of the film. Batman Returns allowed us a better look at Batman/Bruce Wayne himself, who was little more than an imposing supporting cast member in the first film; I loved Jack Nicholson's over-the-top performance, but THIS fanboy wanted more of the Caped Crusader in the film. Batman Returns gave us that and more...we got Batman/Bruce character development, the AWESOME give-and-take between Batman and Catwoman (one of the strangest courtships in comics), and Burton even tossed us a little bit of fun, dark humor with Shreck and the Penguin. Everyone's performances maintained consistent characterizations that came across beautifully as both mad and tragic; Keaton was subtly psychotic, Pfeiffer was fatally seductive, Walken was deliciously megalomaniacal, and DeVito was unwaveringly grotesque. Everyone pulled off their characters with gusto and memorable appeal. Though not as dark and gritty as the first film, "Returns" captured the subtle madness that permeates Gotham City. When you compare "Returns" to the other Batman films, it is easy to see that it gives Batman's world the touch of underlying insanity (as only Burton can capture) that the first film lacked (where was the Joker's twisted sense of humor?) and the last two increasingly turned into the Three Stooges ("Chicks dig the car"!?!). Batman Returns excelled in that it was a dark, disturbingly insane portrait of Batman and Gotham City; a film that carefully balances on the fine line where and darkness and madness meet. For those movie lovers brave enough to try walking that line, I recommend this film.

Bizarre second outing for the Dark Knight that goes overboard on the darkness, but remains highly entertaining. DeVito has way too much fun, and Pfeiffer's Catwoman remains the benchmark. This film forced the overcorrection of Batman Forever and disastrous Batman and Robin. Can't help but wonder what would have happened if Burton and Keaton continued the series. 7/10.