The success of Tim Burton’s interpretation of the Dark Knight in 1989 would land him the opportunity to direct a sequel. Surprisingly, Burton didn’t originally want to do a sequel to Batman unless he was given more creative control in directing it the way he wanted to and not having too many restrictions. Warner Bro’s heard his plea and gave him exactly what he wanted and the result was Batman Returns, a movie that is different from its predecessor in so many ways and yet improves a lot of the minor and even major flaws of the 1989 film.
New threats approach Gothem city. Bruce Wayne as Batman (Micheal Keaton) faces some new foes that arrive on the scene such as The Penguin (Danny DeVito) who is a deformed human who is in cahoots with a businessman named Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) to help The Penguin become mayor of Gothem City. There is also Selina Kyle as Cat Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) who was born out of revenge after her former boss Max Shreck turned his back on her by pushing her out the window. With many other misunderstandings and misadventures taking place, can Batman stop them all before Gothem city becomes out of control?
Now usually when a director gets as much creative control it could either turn out really good or really bad. Personally, I like when directors get more creative control over their movies because it allows them to get their vision on the screen without too much input from studio executives and other outside sources. Tonally, this movie is a lot more elaborate and comic book-like than the previous movie. There are a lot more creative and cartoonish ideas that work as a true comic book movie in the same vein as the Sam Rami Spider-Man movies as well as a true Tim Burton flick like Beetlejuice or Edward Scissorhands. The storytelling is unpredictable and there are a lot of shocking and dark moments that you would most likely never see in the previous movie. These elements are things I wished I could have seen in the last movie but it sure is great to see them in this even better story for this sequel.
Micheal Keaton returns as Batman and he does an honestly fine job. The more I watch the more I start to see that while he’s not doing a bad job, it does feel like his performance is missing the extra push of emotions to make him more Three Dimensional. In fact, much like the last movie, they really don’t take enough time to get to know Batman or Bruce Wayne all that much as they just throw him into the action when he’s needed. In all honesty, that can be forgiven because the other characters surrounding batman have so much personality. Danny DeVito as the penguin is somewhat moody but also cartoonishly goofy as a villain and he is a big giver of unpredictability. But no other character can bring out the unpredictability more like Cat Woman played by Michelle Pfieffer. Her backstory and origins portrayed in this movie are nothing more than brilliant and her excessive, sexy, and wild personality is a joy to watch. One thing I like that this movie changed is that there is no love interest for Batman to save which is a more than welcomed addition to the improvements this sequel offers.
The Cinemotogrpy in the last movie was in many respects only an appetizer for what a comic book movie should look like. This movie does everything the last movie did and even more because the film’s visuals are even more funky and cartoonish than ever before. The setting of Gotham city looks more expansive dark and twisted which compliments Tim Burtons style as well as the original batman comics style. Costuming for the characters is very well handled and sometimes the costumes and makeup can be so good that I could not tell if an actor was under their portraying the said character. The penguin makeup is different from other versions as this makeup is more gruesome and ugly which plays into burton’s style quite well. Cat woman’s costume looks sleek and sexy which is fitting to the character's unpredictable nature. I should also mention that the stunt work is also very impressive. Sure, there were stunts in the original movie but they did not have the same amount of well-timed and overly frantic movements that are engaging to watch.
It is no question to wonder who did the music for this movie as it was done by none other than Danny Elfman who of course gives it his 100%. If I'm being totally honest, Elfman’s music score feels much more expressive and epic with the greater use of pipe organs and singing choirs much as you would hear in most of Tim Burton’s best movies.
Many people have differing opinions about this sequel with some loving it and some feeling indifferent to it. From my standpoint, Batman Returns is a sequel that is better directed and brings out more creative ideas in storytelling and visuals that speak to Tim Burton’s creative and warped vision. Sure it may not be a masterpiece of superhero movies, but Batman Returns takes whatever worked with the previous installment and in many ways improves to make a sequel that is more than just a retread of the 1989 film. You may not agree with me, but I would much rather have a sequel doing something shocking and different rather than giving me more of the same.
(Final Grade: B+)