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Batman Returns (1992)

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nTitle: Batman Returns (1992)

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nDirector: Tim Burton

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nCast: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken,nDanny DeVito

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nReview:

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nI watched Batman Returns back in 1992 when it first hitntheaters and was wowed out of my skin by it; my teenage mind couldn’t take sonmuch coolness! Watching it today, I still think it’s a fantastic film that isnin many ways superior to the first one. And that was no easy task either, thenfirst one has a magic all it’s own. But this sequel was a bigger productionnwith a bigger budget. I mean for it’s time, this film was huge! For BatmannReturns, the budget was doubled, which gave director Tim Burton an even biggernarena to play in then he had with his first take on the character in Batman (1989).nThis doubling of the films budget is understandable; it is actually standardnoperation procedure for Hollywood.nWhen a film makes it ultra big (the way Burton’snfirst Batman film did) then Hollywoodnis programmed to automatically give audiences something bigger and better thensecond time around. An example of this would be Steven Spielberg’s IndiananJones and the Templen of Doom (1984), a filmnthat ended up being bigger and louder then its predecessor; and this wasncertainly the case with Batman Returns, the sets they built for this film tooknup 50% of Warner Bros. studio lots! Taking in consideration how sometimes hugenproductions can become huge disasters as well, did lightning hit twice thisnsecond time around?

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nI’d say that yes, this film is as good as its predecessor,nand maybe even superior to it. A lot of that has to do with the fact that TimnBurton was given way more creative freedom with this second film. Consideringnhow well Burton did with the first film, and hownmuch money it made, Warner Brothers let Burtonndo whatever the hell he wanted with this sequel. They even pronounced him fullnon producer. In fact, Burtonnaccepted to work on this sequel only if his specifications were met, and theynwere. Whole characters were completely exorcised from the script and manynre-writes were made. For example, the character of Harvey Dent (a.k.a. TwonFace) was taken out and replaced by an entirely original character called Max Shreck,na millionaire tycoon/business man who wants screw Gotham Citynover. The inclusion of Batman’s sidekick Robin was supposed to happen on thisnfilm, but at the request of Burton he was takennout because there were too many characters on the film, a smart move on Burton’s part if you asknme. This could have easily turned into another Batman and Robin (1997) Butnunder the able hands of Tim Burton, it was smooth trails for this film. By thenway, did you guys know that Marlon Wayan’s almost played Robin on this film? Heneven tried the suit on, but eventually it was a no go and it was Chris O’Donellnwho ended up playing the character on Batman and Robin. Ultimately, thesenBurton made changesnonly helped the film, making Batman Returns the most ‘Burtonesque’ of all thenBat films.

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nBurton talks out a scene with Pfeiffer and Keaton

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nAnd that’s basically what sets this one apart, that it’s TimnBurton’s world, he effectively turned the Batman franchise into his own,ngothic, dark, grotesque, slightly sexualized universe; all without forgettingnthat this is Batman were talking about here. We get the batcave, the batmobilenand even a bat glider! Plus, there’s all those cool Bat gadgets! We also see Batmanngetting a new love interest. Apparently, Vicky Vale couldn’t deal with BrucenWayne’s dual persona. But no worries! Bats is now interested in Selina Kyle a.k.a.nCatwoman. One of the most interesting aspects of the film is how Bruce Waynendeals with falling in love for someone who is a mirror image of himself. SelinanKyle also leads a double life; she also puts on a costume and fights evil, innher own twisted, angry way. Pfeiffer’s Selina is the voice of the angry womannsaying “I’ve had enough!” And that’s one of the things that make Tim Burton’snBatman films so damn good; he always handled the villains so exquisitely well. Theynwere always bigger than life; and were always, to a certain extent treated withnsympathy. There’s no better example than Batman Returns to show this.

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nOn this film Batman goes up against three villains, andnthough in the hands of a lesser director  this could have become a hindrance (JoelnSchumacher?) Burtonnhandled all three villains very well, giving each the screen time they deservednin order to become fully fleshed out characters. This probably explains why outnof all the Bat films this is the longest one clocking in at 126 minutes. I say that’snno problem, I’d rather have a slightly longer film that truly fleshes out it’s characters,nthen a badly edited one where things apparently happen at a blink or you’llnmiss it pace. Another reason why the villains in Batman Returns worked so wellnis because they were so well casted! Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, wow, Inmean, many actresses were rumored to play the character, but I’m glad it wasnfinally Pfeiffer who ended up donning the cat costume, she’s so freaking sexynon this film. In fact, she was part of the reason why the film got a lot ofnheat. The sexual innuendoes are all over the place on this one! At one pointnCatwoman tells Batman and The Penguin “You poor guys, always confusing yournpistols with your privates!” Unfortunately the general population didn’t take ansexualized Batman film in a good way, so much so that McDonald’s had to put a stopnto their Batman Returns promotional happy meals, which of course made all thensense in the world. After all, this was not a children’s film and neither wasnthe first film for that matter, Burton’snfilms were made for adults. I mean, sure they were about comic book characters,nbut they had an adult like sensibility to them. This of course was somethingnthat the studio quickly changed for Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robinn(1997) two films that were obviously aimed at a more infantile audience andnwere decidedly campier. It’s no surprise that these two films are the mostndespised in the whole franchise and the ones that killed it.

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nCatwoman steals the film; she’s the epitome of feminism. She’snthe secretary who is stepped on (literally!) by her boss. She’s not paid enough;nshe lives alone, in an extremely crappy apartment, in a child like environment.nThe film comments on how women are treated in this world, and she’s a characternthat’s here to show the anger felt towards the machismo, the chauvinistic pigsnof the world. She’s sexy yeah, but she’s not to be taken for granted! Shenmatters! And she will be heard! “Life’s a bitch and now some am I!” Pfeiffer’snportrayal of this character was so successful that the studio squeezed in annextra scene in the last frames, where we see Catwoman re-emerging, still alive.nThe studio planned to give the character her own film, but it took then morenthen ten years to finally release Catwoman (2004), one of the worst films evernmade. By then everybody involved with the first film had moved on to othernthings and so the magic went with them. The character would emerge again in TheDark Knight Rises (2012), portrayed by Anne Hathaway in a less sexy, yet stillneffective form. In my opinion, Pfeiffer’s take on the character is stillnunrivaled.

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nThen we have the awesomeness that is Max Shreck, a characternbrought to life by the one and only Christopher Walken, through this characternBurton and his writers wanted to show that the “real villains of the world don’tnalways wear costumes”. Walken was the perfect choice for Shreck, scary, intimidating, yet completely diplomatic when he has to be. Reportedly Walken even scared Burtonnhimself! This theme of costume less villains was a great theme to explore, the filmnwas criticizing big money and how they often times sacrifice the interests andnwell being of the people in order to maximize their profits; a theme that isnstill relevant in our modern times, in fact, maybe even more so. Out of all thenvillains in the film, Shreck is the baddest of them all. He lies through his teeth;nhe portrays himself as a true Gothamite, while he stabs the city in its backnwith his proposed power plant that will suck the city dry! He has one of the best lines: “Who would have though Selina had a brain to damage? Buttom line: she tries to black mail me, next time I throw her out of a higher window! In the mean time I have bigger fish to fry!” Damn, so cold. Finally we havenDeVito’s The Penguin, an outcast of society, who lives in the cities sewernsystem. And here is the villain whom we can feel some amount of sympathy for,nhe’s simply an angry man because everyone rejects him, even his own parents whonhave no problems in throwing him into the river. Interesting tid bit ofninformation: The Penguins parents are played by Pee-Herman and Diane Salinger,ntwo actors  who worked together before onnBurton’s firstnfilm: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)!

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nCritics were divided by this film; some felt it was a combinationnof art film and film noir, while others felt it didn’t give enough screen timento Batman or that it was too dark or sexual. Some said that The Penguin was anpoor substitute for Nicholson’s Joker. I say the film is a big budget art film,nit is dark and sexual. It feels a lot like a big budget film noir. And it’sngothic, and grand in scale, and grotesque and all of these elements add up to angreat Batman film that never bores. A gigantic dark carnival! Seeing all thesengreat actors having fun together on the silver screen is fantastic andnpersonally, I love the fact that it’s a Bat film that’s heavy on themes. I cannagree with some critics that said that Batman/Bruce Wayne is a bit eclipsed bynthe villains of the piece, but honestly, the villains are so interesting andnthe world they inhabit so lush and gothic that I had no real problem with this.nIt does feel like the stars of the show are actually the villains, and that’snokay in my book because, hey, at least Burtonnand his crew had something to say through them, this isn’t some emptynspectacle. In my opinion, Burtonncreated two very unique bat films, he did what every director should do withntheir films, make ‘em their own.

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nRating: 5 out of 5  

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