BATMAN RETURNS
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson
121 min., PG-13, Action, 1992 Director: Tim Burton Cast: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken, Paul Reubens, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Michael Murphy, Vincent Schiavelli, Jan Hooks, Cristi Conaway
Gotham City is being plagued with violence and Batman (Michael Keaton) is called back for help. This time two new criminals are brought fourth, The Penguin (Danny DeVito), and the secretary with an attitude problem, The Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). These two criminals try to bring down Batman to their level to get rid of him.
BATMAN RETURNS is an extremely good sequel to the original film, BATMAN, which is almost as good as the original. I feel that the director, Tim Burton, has yet again created a wonderful film, that will probably be loved by both children and adults. Where BATMAN RETURNS doesn't have all the characterization that BATMAN had, it does have more violence. On a scale of zero to five I give BATMAN RETURNS a five. BATMAN RETURNS is rated PG-13 for violence, adult situations, and explicit language.
Like in the original, Gotham City looks like the New York City of the future. It is filled with towering buildings, and as far as I can tell, has no trees. Gotham City doesn't look like the nicest place to live, but it is wonderfully designed. When I was watching this movie, I kept thinking of how much money must have gone into this city. The are also some stunning visual shot of the city which enhances the film more.
Like in the original, BATMAN RETURNS has a lot of characterization, although not as heavy as it was in the first, so creating a three dimensional criminal, instead of the one dimensional criminal portrayed in most movies. The reasons for why the criminal does what he does are explained, and overall creates a much more interesting movie.
BATMAN RETURNS easily ranks as one of the best ten sequels that I have seen. I hope that when BATMAN 3, which I am sure is already being worked on, is released that it will be as good as this one. Tim Burton seems to give Batman the touch that it needs, which unfortunately I haven't found with the other films by him that I have seen. BEETLEJUICE wasn't that good of a movie; PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE ... well, I think this one speaks for itself; and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS seemed to be missing something. I think that in Tim Burton's hands Batman has a lot of potential and I hope to see more of him soon.
This film will definitely lose a lot of its impact on video cassette. If you plan to see this movie, I highly suggest that you try to find a theater that is still playing it to view it. It is worth whatever price you have to pay.
Ken J. blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
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