Batman Returns
| Batman Returns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
"It's the so-called "normal" guys who always let you down. Sickos never scare me. Least they're committed."
— Selina Kyle
Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which tells the story of how Batman clashes with The Penguin and Max Shreck a reclusive "freak" and a corrupt aristocrat who seeks power and revenge respectively. Meanwhile, Selina Kyle seeks revenge against Shreck as the vindictive Catwoman.
This film is the second in the Batman Motion Picture Anthology, being preceded by Batman (1989). After the first film's success, Tim Burton was approached for a sequel, agreeing to come back in exchange for greater creative control. The film received mixed to positive reviews on release, with praise levied against Keaton, DeVito, Pfeiffer, and Walken's performances, and criticisms levied against the overall darker tone, with the violence and sexual elements being criticized in particular. The film, while successful, did not recapture the success of the first Batman movie. After production, Tim Burton parted ways with Warner Bros. as a director. The film was followed by Batman Forever in 1995.
Plot
In the early 1950s, a young child is born to two aristocrats. The child is very aggressive, killing the family's cat. Disturbed by their child's rage, they abandon him at the zoo to die. Eventually, the child is discovered by a group of emperor penguins.
33 years later, the Red Triangle Gang, a group of circus-themed criminals, arrives in Gotham City. Despite the attempts of Batman to stop the group, they kidnap aristocrat Max Shreck, who is brought before the child, now calling himself the Penguin. He blackmails Shreck with the knowledge of his corruption. After staging a rescue of the mayor's baby son, the Penguin reveals himself to the world and asks for access to the city's records, where he scans the names of the firstborn sons of Gotham looking for his own. Unknown to everybody though, the Penguin is writing down a list. The Penguin eventually locates his parents' graves and makes a show of forgiving them and accepting his true name; Oswald Cobblepot. As this is televised, Bruce Wayne watches on with his doubts. Eventually, Shreck convinces Oswald to run for mayor.
Selina Kyle, who was present during the Gang's attack returns to work to pick up some documents for her boss; Max Shreck. After discovering his plan to build a power plant that would siphon energy from the city's power grid, she is thrown out of a window by Shreck. Selina survives with a concussion and returns home. However, after she is reminded of Shreck, she loses it, destroying her apartment. Crafting a costume out of leather and stealing a whip, Selina adopts the name Catwoman and seeks revenge on Max.
When the Red Triangle Gang returns to Gotham City, Batman comes back to stop them. After defeating them, he notices Oswald and confronts him. The two are interrupted by Catwoman exiting one of Shreck's stores, which explodes. Batman eventually catches up to Catwoman and fights her, ending with her falling off a roof and onto a gravel truck, making a remark about cheating death. Selina and Bruce pursue a romantic relationship, whereas Oswald and Catwoman plan to have Batman framed for murder, and then killed.
Batman is summoned to the city when the Red Triangle Gang kidnaps the Ice Princess from the Christmas Lighting Ceremony, and when Oswald's actions result in her death, he is framed for her murder. Batman glides down to the Batmobile to head back to the Batcave but is surprised when Cobblepot gains remote control of the Batmobile. He takes the Batmobile on a rampage, talking directly to Batman and insulting the citizens of Gotham. Eventually, Batman gains control of the Batmobile and escapes the police. When he arrives at the Batcave it's revealed he recorded Cobblepot's insults.
Catwoman and Oswald convene on a rooftop, where Catwoman rebukes his sexual advances. Insulted, Oswald tries to kill Catwoman but fails, taking another one of her "nine lives". At a mayoral rally, Oswald is making a speech to the crowd when Batman and Alfred hijack the PA system and make Oswald's derogatory comments. He's pelted with fruit by the insulted crowd, before returning fire himself, rejecting his human heritage and crawling back to his Arctic World base. He then reveals his plan to his Gang allies, kidnap and kill the firstborn infants of Gotham's elite.
Selina and Bruce attend Shreck's Masquerade Ball, where the two discover each other's identities. Bruce tries to coax Selina out of her attempts to kill Max, but the Ball is stormed by the Penguin, who wants Max's son Chip. Max offers himself instead and allows himself to be taken with the Penguin while Bruce and Selina leave. Bruce, as Batman, takes down the Red Triangle Gang and foils their kidnapping plot. However, the Penguin has another plan; remote armed penguins. In his Batskiboat, he jams the signal, making the penguins fire upon Arctic World, leveling it. The Penguin confronts Batman, but he is swarmed by a colony of bats and falls into toxic waste.
Batman returns to the Penguin's base where he finds Max and Catwoman. Bruce tries to calm Selina and help her, even unmasking for her, however, she takes off her mask and rejects his offer of a peaceful life, choosing vengeance. Max shoots Batman and Catwoman before Selina grabs her taser and a power cable from the generator Max is standing in front of and delivers a kiss of death. Selina goes missing in the resulting explosion, but Batman discovers Max's charred corpse. The Penguin emerges from the waste, barely alive. He tries to shoot Batman with one of his umbrellas but grabs the wrong one. After he murmurs about needing a glass of water, he collapses, poisoned by the toxic waste. A group of penguins carry him to his watery grave.
After the last few days, Bruce and Alfred are driving through Gotham. Bruce glimpses what he thinks is Catwoman, but a quick investigation reveals it to be Selina's cat. The butler and his adoptive son wish each other a Merry Christmas. As the Batsignal lights up, Catwoman glances up, reminded of Wayne.
Good Qualities
- Danny Devito portrays the Penguin with a sense of tragedy but also shows that you can't help pure evil.
- The damaged and hurt Catwoman is played brilliantly by Michelle Pfeiffer, who helps bring a sense of sympathy to her role.
- Michael Keaton brings more humanity to the role of Bruce Wayne, showing that even though he's a killer himself, Batman still wants to bring hope and peace to Gotham.
- Christopher Walken plays the part of Max Shreck perfectly, showing us how manipulative and deceitful the 1% really can be.
- The new Batsuit is sleeker and has a more armored look, compared to the anatomically correct muscles of the '89 suit.
- Despite its limited screentime, the Batskiboat is an impressive addition to Batman's lineup of vehicles alongside the Batmobile and Batwing.
- Tim Burton's Gotham is developed much more, aesthetically, being given a much bigger sense of scale and height.
Bad Qualities
- After being given more creative control by Warner Bros. due to the Guber-Peters duo not producing the movie, Tim Burton was given much more creative control. This results in the movie being much darker than its predecessor, with a much meaner spirit.
- The Penguin is a very sexually aggressive character, often exclaiming his want to procreate with attractive women. His reason for wanting to kill Catwoman is simply that she wouldn't let him have sex with her.
- To continue from above, the movie has much more sexual and violent themes, with Catwoman's costume, in particular, resembling a gimp suit, due to its leather construction. This might probably be enough to get the film banned in Kenya, China, and Malaysia.
- James Gordon doesn't have much to do, which is odd for such an important Batman character.
- Batman receives little character development through this movie, just like the 1989 movie.
- Additionally, Batman is still shown to actively kill his opponents, or at least help cause the deaths of two of them.
- Because of the darker tone, this is the last Batman film to star Michael Keaton and be directed by Tim Burton. The latter amicably parted ways with Warner Bros. and the latter left shortly after. Joel Schumacher would take the reigns wanting to do another dark movie, but was instructed to make the next movie lighter in tone.
- Billy Dee Williams's portrayal of Harvey Dent in Tim Burton's Batman is often cited as one of the biggest missed opportunities in superhero cinema after he appeared in the 1989 film.