BATMAN RETURNS
A film review by Sarah M. Elkins
Copyright 1992 Sarah M. Elkins
BATMAN RETURNS: sequel to the box-office success BATMAN; directed again by Tim Burton.
Plot/kick-off: A bit messy and complicated to try to explain; a new set of villains trying to take over Gotham City during the Christmas season, plus the destructive Catwoman; a few subplots that are left hanging at the end, but only if you think about them. Despite the variety of things going on, it all hangs together pretty well.
Characters/acting: Once again, the same mistake is made as in BATMAN: the villains upstage Batman; at least the villains are more interesting this time (but then, I've never been a big Nicholson fan). I had my doubts about Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, but she was perfect*, from the way she twitches her whip like a cat's tail, to her portrayal of Selina's realization of her own disintegration while dancing with Bruce. Smart, intriguing dialogue between her and Bruce/Batman, and her and the Penguin. Danny DeVito is okay as the Penguin. Chris Walken was not as over-the-edge as the psychotic he played in A VIEW TO A KILL, but the loving father-son corporate villains angle added a fresh twist.
Cinematography/FX: Sort of a combo of BATMAN and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS; still, a few new shots that I thought were pretty spectacular (watch the neon letters in Selina's apartment and the pullback the first time she's in costume). Actually, I thought extra attention must have been placed on good acrobatics/stunts (all those flips and kicks etc.); they impressed me a little more than the gizmos, though they may have been slightly overused. The last shot was disappointingly obvious, though.
Score/Sound: Score by Danny Elfman again; pretty similar, except for a cool closing song, "Face to Face" performed by Siouxsie and the Banshees; no Prince this time.
Violence/Gore: Lots of flying bullets and bodies, but no buckets o' blood; the gore was in short intense scenes, which I thought was pretty well calculated to make the audience start to squirm, but not overplayed, except perhaps too many close-ups of the Penguin's disgusting oozing-black teeth (though they don't beat out Willem Dafoe's in WILD AT HEART).
Language: Lots of use of bi***; also some pretty overt suggestions of and references to sex by the Penguin.
Skin/situations: Implied fondling (cut off by camera angle), some kissing
Analysis: Despite a few continuity errors and problems with internal logic, I found it pretty easy to suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. I liked it better than BATMAN, probably because I thought the first one dragged. I might even go back and see it again for a matinee or when it hits the cut-rate theaters.
-Sarah elkins.wbst139@xerox.com * aren't you proud of me for not going for the obvious pun? :-)
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