Batman Returns – Film Review
Overview
Batman Returns is a shallow, hollow and ultimately meaningless exercise is dark, brooding and stylized filmmaking. There’s no doubt that director Tim Burton had a specific vision for the film and went for it with as much bravado and craft as he could possibly muster. The problem is a story that is ultimately devoid of character, theme or originality beyond your typical Burton film. The characters are positively two-dimensional and the pacing is thoroughly glacial. Add in the fact that the film makes too many “sophomore mistakes” and the end result is a film that often looks like and feels the original Batman film but is, otherwise a poor substitute.
Analysis & Criticism
That’s not to say that Batman Returns is a horrible film. But it’s nowhere near as good as its reputation would lead one to believe. The problems revolve around a convoluted plot, thoroughly implausible and empty characterizations, and far more style than substance. I happen to enjoy Burton’s style – particularly the aesthetic he used for the first Batman film – but here that style is like a boa constrictor, suffocating the characters and the story at the expense of “Burton-esque” moments such as marching penguins with missiles on their backs, henchmen clowns with skull-faces on stilts and villains who have little to no real emotions or motivations other than, simply, being evil.
That’s not to say that the Penguin (Danny DeVito) or Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) put in terrible performances. Oh, sure, the Penguin is memorably creepy and Catwoman is stunning in her catsuit. But they are merely caricatures, rather than characters. The bombast of Jack Nicholson’s Joker worked in the first film because the story required him to be little more than a mirror for Batman’s own inner demons. With Batman Returns, the two villains fail to be as charismatic and, what’s worse, they even fail to inform the audience about the character of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Faring slightly better is Christopher Walken as Max Shreck, a greedy, opportunistic businessman whose motivations are the most plausible in the entire film. Otherwise, even Michael Keaton’s performance manages to ring hollow and empty, barely scratching the real depths and inner conflicts of Bruce Wayne. It’s an exploration that would have to wait until the uneven, but infinitely more thoughtful Batman Begins.
Overall Grade: C-
Without question, there are entertaining elements to Batman Returns but, ultimately, it is a film that is much too cartoonish to be taken seriously. Subsequent Batman films are (quite justifiably) skewered because they present caricatured characters and nonsensical plots. But, if we’re being objective, it’s important to note that the trend began here, with far more emphasis being placed on style than on real, compelling substance.
Topics: Comics, Film Review
Filed under: Batman
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