Psycho's Movie Reviews #344: BATMAN: RETURNS (1992)

Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and produced by Denise Di Novi and Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. The sequel to the 1989 film Batman, it is the second installment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series, and stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman, alongside Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Michael Murphy, and Vincent Schiavelli. In Batman Returns, Batman faces the Penguin, who plots to kill all of Gotham City's firstborn sons, while dealing with Max Shreck, a corrupt tycoon who allies with the Penguin to bring Gotham City under his control, and Catwoman, who seeks vengeance against Shreck.

Burton originally did not want to direct another Batman film. Warner Bros. developed a script with Sam Hamm which had the Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure. Burton agreed to return after they granted him more creative control and replaced Hamm with Daniel Waters. Wesley Strick was later chosen to do an uncredited rewrite shortly before filming. This included normalizing dialogue, fleshing out the Penguin's motivations and master plan, and removing scenes due to budget concerns. Strick continued working as the on-set writer through filming. Annette Bening was originally cast as Catwoman, but became pregnant and was replaced with Pfeiffer.

Batman Returns was released on June 19, 1992. It grossed $266.8 million worldwide on a total budget of $80 million and received positive reviews. Critics praised its action sequences, performances, Danny Elfman's score, effects and villains, but its PG-13 rating was criticized due to the dark tone and violence. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup, as well as two BAFTA awards. A stand-alone sequel, Batman Forever, was released in 1995, with Val Kilmer replacing Keaton as Batman.

The first issue of an alternate comic book continuation titled Batman '89, which ignores the events of the subsequent films, was set to be published by DC Comics on July 27, 2021, before being delayed to a simultaneous digital and physical release for August 10, 2021. Keaton is set to reprise the role of Batman in the DC Extended Universe in Batgirl (2022) and The Flash (2023), both of which pick up directly from Batman Returns and disregard the events of the two Schumacher films that originally followed it.

Plot

On Christmas Day, Gotham City socialites Tucker and Esther Cobblepot become the parents of a deformed baby boy, Oswald. Believing that Gotham's high society would not welcome their baby due to his appearance and wild demeanour, the Cobblepots confine Oswald to a cage and ultimately throw him into the sewer, where he is discovered by a family of penguins underneath the Gotham Zoo.

Thirty-three years later, millionaire and philanthropist Max Shreck proposes to build a power plant to supply Gotham with energy, though he is opposed by the mayor. During Shreck's speech, Gotham comes under attack by a disgraced former circus troupe, the Red Triangle Gang. Though Gotham's vigilante protector Batman intervenes and manages to fight the criminals off, Shreck is abducted and taken to the sewer, where he meets the gang's secret leader, Oswald himself, now going by the name "Penguin". Oswald blackmails Shreck with evidence of his corporate crimes (which he had disposed of in the sewer) into helping him return to the surface to a high social standing, and he accepts. Meanwhile, Shreck's secretary, Selina Kyle, discovers that the power plant is actually meant to drain Gotham of its energy, which will bring the city under Shreck's control, after which Shreck will essentially be untouchable by the authorities. Shreck pushes her out of a window attempting to kill her, but she survives the fall when a group of cats unintentionally revive her and vows revenge, taking up the mantle of Catwoman.

Oswald makes his presence known by rescuing the mayor's baby from a staged kidnapping attempt, and requests to be allowed into the Hall of Records to find his parents. Batman's alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, voices his suspicions about Oswald's true motives, and investigates his background and connection to the Red Triangle Gang, discovering that the troupe had been shut down years ago due to children going missing during their performances and the disappearance of one specific member before interrogation, whom Bruce suspects to be Oswald. During a meeting with Shreck to voice his own opposition to the power plant, Bruce meets Selina and the two become attracted to one another. In order to remove his enemies, Shreck pushes for Oswald to run for mayor and discredit the current mayor by having the Red Triangle Gang wreak havoc on the city. Batman intervenes and meets Catwoman as she attempts to sabotage one of Shreck's businesses; the two fight and injure each other before Catwoman escapes. She swears revenge on Batman by allying with Oswald, who also plans to kill Batman as part of his own schemes.

As Bruce and Selina begin a romantic relationship, Oswald abducts Gotham's Ice Princess and kills her, framing Batman for the act, as well as causing the Batmobile to rampage throughout Gotham before Batman narrowly manages to regain control and escape the authorities. When Catwoman rejects his advances, Oswald breaks off their partnership and attempts to kill her, but she survives after falling into a greenhouse. During the chase, Batman records Oswald's disparaging remarks about the people of Gotham and later plays them during his next speech, destroying his image and forcing him to return to the sewer, where he renounces his humanity and reveals his plan to abduct and kill all of Gotham's firstborn sons as revenge for what his parents did to him. At a charity ball hosted by Shreck, Bruce and Selina meet and discover each other's secret identities. The Penguin appears and reveals his plan, intending to take Shreck's son Chip with him, but Shreck gives himself up in his son's stead.

Batman foils the kidnappings and heads for the Penguin's lair. The Penguin attempts to have his army of penguins bomb the city and kill everyone in Gotham, though Batman and his butler, Alfred, jam the signal and order the penguins to return to the sewer. Batman arrives and confronts the Penguin. In the ensuing fight, the Penguin falls through a window into the sewer's toxic water after accidentally launching the bombs on the zoo. Shreck escapes but is confronted by Catwoman, who intends to kill him. Batman pleads for Selina to stop, unmasking himself in the process. Shreck draws a gun and shoots them both, but Selina survives several gunshot wounds (citing nine lives) and electrocutes herself and Shreck with a stun gun, causing a massive explosion. Bruce, who was wearing body armour, finds Shreck's remains, but Selina is nowhere to be found. The Penguin emerges from the water and tries to shoot Bruce from behind, but dies from his injuries and from the toxic sewage before his penguin family lays his body to rest in the water. In the aftermath, as Alfred drives him home, Bruce sees Selina's silhouette in an alley but only finds her cat as a farewell gift, who he decides to take home with him. The Bat-Signal appears in the sky as Catwoman, who survived, watches.

Production

Development

After the success of Batman, Warner Bros. planned for a sequel to start filming in May 1990 at Pinewood Studios. Sets from the previous film were stored at a cost of $250,000. Tim Burton originally did not want to direct another film in the franchise. "I will return if the sequel offers something new and exciting", he said in 1989. "Otherwise it's a most-dumbfounded idea." Burton decided to direct Edward Scissorhands for 20th Century Fox. Sam Hamm delivered the first two drafts of the script, while Bob Kane was brought back as a creative consultant. Bill Finger, co-creator of Batman, the Penguin, and Catwoman, was uncredited at the time of the film's release and his name was not added to any Batman related media until 2016. Hamm's script had the Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure.

Burton was impressed with Daniel Waters's work on Heathers; Burton originally brought Waters aboard on a sequel to Beetlejuice. Burton then negotiated with Warner Bros. for the first film's producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber to become executive producers, joining Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan. Denise Di Novi and Burton became the film's top billed producers, with Larry Franco replacing Chris Kenny as their line producer. Dissatisfied with the Hamm script, Burton commissioned a rewrite from Waters. Waters "came up with a social satire that had an evil mogul backing a bid for the Mayor's office by the Penguin", Waters reported. "I wanted to show that the true villains of our world don't necessarily wear costumes." The subplot of the Penguin running for Mayor came from the 1960s TV series episodes "Hizzoner the Penguin" and "Dizzoner the Penguin". Waters wrote a total of five drafts.

On the characterization of Catwoman, Waters explained "Sam Hamm went back to the way comic books in general treat women, like fetishy sexual fantasy. I wanted to start off just at the lowest point in society, a very beaten down secretary." Harvey Dent appeared in early drafts of the script, but was deleted. His disfiguring appearance of Two-Face would have appeared in the climax when Catwoman kisses him with a taser to the face, which was replaced with Max Shreck. Waters quoted, "Sam Hamm definitely planned that. I flirted with it, having Harvey start to come back and have one scene of him where he flips a coin and it's the good side of the coin, deciding not to do anything, so you had to wait for the next movie." In early scripts Max Shreck was the "golden boy" of the Cobblepot family, whereas The Penguin was the deformed outsider. It turned out that Shreck would be the Penguin's long-lost brother. Max Shreck was also a reference to actor Max Schreck, known for his role as Count Orlok in Nosferatu.

Pre-Production

Burton hired Wesley Strick to do an uncredited rewrite. Strick recalled, "When I was hired to write Batman Returns (Batman II at the time), the big problem of the script was the Penguin's lack of a 'master plan'." Warner Bros. presented Strick with warming, or freezing Gotham City, a plot point they would later use in Batman & Robin. Strick gained inspiration from a Moses parallel that had the Penguin killing the firstborn sons of Gotham. A similar notion was used when the Penguin's parents threw him into a river as a baby. Robin appeared in the script, but was deleted because Waters felt the film had too many characters. Waters called Robin "the most worthless character in the world, especially with Batman as the loner of loners". Robin started out as a juvenile gang leader, who becomes an ally to Batman. Robin was later changed to a black teenage garage mechanic. Waters explained, "He's wearing this old-fashioned garage mechanic uniform and it has an 'R' on it. He drives the Batmobile, which I notice they used in the third film!" Marlon Wayans was cast, and signed for a sequel. The actor had attended a wardrobe fitting, but it was decided to save the character for a third instalment.

Michael Keaton returned after a significant increase in his salary to $10 million. Annette Bening was cast as Catwoman after Burton saw her performance in The Grifters, but she dropped out due to her pregnancy. Raquel Welch, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Madonna, Ellen Barkin, Cher, Bridget Fonda, Lorraine Bracco, Jennifer Beals and Susan Sarandon were then in competition for the role. Sean Young, who was originally chosen for Vicki Vale in the previous film, believed the role should have gone to her. Young visited production offices dressed in a homemade Catwoman costume, demanding an audition. Burton was unfamiliar with Michelle Pfeiffer's work, but was convinced to cast her after one meeting. Pfeiffer received a $3 million salary, $2 million more than Bening, and a percentage of the box office. The actress undertook kickboxing lessons for the role and trained with an expert to master the whip. Kathy Long served as Pfeiffer's body double. On Danny DeVito's casting, Waters explained, "I kind of knew that DeVito was going to play the Penguin. We didn't really officially cast it, but for a short nasty little guy, it's a short list. I ended up writing the character for Danny DeVito."

Burgess Meredith (who portrayed the Penguin in the 1960s TV series Batman) was cast in a cameo role as Tucker Cobblepot, Penguin's father, but fell ill. The role was taken by Paul Reubens, who had worked with Burton on Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

Filming

In early 1991, two of Hollywood's largest sound stages (Stage 16 at Warner Bros. and Stage 12 at Universal Studios) were being prepared for the filming of Batman Returns. Filming started in June 1991. Stage 16 held Gotham Plaza, based on Rockefeller Center. Universal's Stage 12 housed Penguin's underground lair. A half-a-million gallon tank filled with water was used. Burton wanted to make sure that the penguins felt comfortable. Eight other locations on the Warner Bros. lot were used; over 50% of their property was occupied by Gotham City sets.

Animal rights groups started protesting the film after finding out that penguins would have rockets strapped on their backs. Richard Hill, the curator of the penguins, explained that Warner Bros. was very helpful in making sure the penguins were comfortable. "On the flight over the plane was refrigerated down to 45 degrees", recalls Hill. "In Hollywood, they were given a refrigerated trailer, their own swimming pool, half-a-ton of ice each day, and they had fresh fish delivered daily straight from the docks. Even though it was 100 degrees outside, the entire set was refrigerated down to 35 degrees." This made it very cold for Michelle Pfeiffer, who was most of the time clad only in a thin latex catsuit. According to the American Humane Association's On-Set Oversight, the six Emperor penguins that act as pallbearers for the Penguin's body at the end of the film, were little people dressed as Emperor penguins.

The streets of Gotham City use the old Brownstone Street and Hennessy Street on the Warners' backlot.

Warner Bros. devoted a large amount of secrecy for Batman Returns. The art department was required to keep their office blinds pulled down. Cast and crew had to have photo ID badges with the movie's fake working title Dictel to go anywhere near the sets. Kevin Costner was refused a chance to visit the set. An entertainment magazine leaked the first photos of Danny DeVito as the Penguin; in response Warner Bros. employed a private investigator to track down the accomplice. $65 million was spent during the production of Batman Returns, while $15 million was used for marketing, coming to a total cost of $80 million. The final shot of Catwoman looking at the Bat-Signal was completed during post-production and was not part of the shooting script. After Batman Returns was completed Warner Bros. felt it was best for Catwoman to survive, saving more characterizations in a future instalment. Pfeiffer was unavailable and a body double was chosen.

Design and Effects

Bo Welch, Burton's collaborator on Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, replaced Anton Furst as production designer, since Furst was unable to return for the sequel due to contractual obligations with Columbia Pictures (as he was working on what would be his final credited work prior to his suicide, Awakenings). Welch blended "Fascist architecture with World's fair architecture" for Gotham City. He also studied Russian architecture and German Expressionism. An iron maiden was used for Bruce Wayne's entry into the Batcave. Stan Winston, who worked with Burton on Edward Scissorhands, designed Danny DeVito's prosthetic makeup, which took two hours to apply. DeVito had to put a combination of mouthwash and red/green food colouring in his mouth "to create a grotesque texture of some weird ooze."

More than 60 latex Catsuits were created for the six-month shoot at $1,000 each. The initial concept for the design came from Tim Burton, who envisioned a stuffed cat with its stitches coming apart at the seams. The prototype was created around a body cast of Pfeiffer so that it would fit her exactly, and painted with white silicone rubber to imitate stitches. It was extremely tight and very laborious to put on – Michelle Pfeiffer had to be covered in talcum powder to squeeze into the costume, which was in turn brushed with liquid silicone on every take to give it shine. Pfeiffer might wear the suit for 12 to 14 hours at a time, except lunch breaks when it was removed, which was her only opportunity to use the bathroom during the workday.

The Batsuit was updated, which was made out of a thinner, slightly more flexible foam rubber material than the suit from Batman, and the logo was changed to better reflect how it looked in the comics. The new bat-suit also had a zipper for urination and the upper body build did not look like a muscular physique. DeVito was uncomfortable with his costume, but this made it easy for him to get into character. J. P. Morgan's wardrobe was used for inspiration on Max Shreck's costume design.

The bats were entirely composed of computer-generated imagery since it was decided directing real bats on set would be problematic. The Penguin's "bird army" was a combination of CGI, robotic creatures, men in suits and even real penguins. Robotic penguin puppets were commissioned by Stan Winston. In total 30 African penguins and 12 king penguins were used. A miniature effect was used for the exteriors of the Cobblepot Mansion in the opening scene and for Wayne Manor. The same method was used for the Bat Ski-boat and the exterior shots of the Gotham Zoo.

Music and Sound

Danny Elfman had great enthusiasm for returning because "I didn't have to prove myself from the first film. I remember Jon Peters was very sceptical at first to hire me." Elfman's work schedule was 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. "When completing this movie I realized it was something of a film score and an opera. It was 95 minutes long, twice the amount of the average film score." Burton allowed Elfman to be more artistic with the sequel score, such as the "scraping" on violins for the cat themes. Under the pressure of finishing the score, however, the relationship between the two strained, which – along with further "creative differences" on The Nightmare Before Christmas – led Burton to use Howard Shore to score his next film Ed Wood. The musician co-orchestrated "Face to Face", which was written and performed by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The song can be heard in one scene during the film and during the end credits. Burton had requested Siouxsie and the Banshees for the title track, commenting: "I've always been a fan – Siouxsie is one of very few women who can create a realistic primal cat sound."

It was the first film to be announced as released with Dolby SR-D technology (later known as Dolby Digital).

Release/Reception/Box Office

Though criticized by some for being too dark and violent, Batman Returns received mostly positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 80% based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 6.73/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Director Tim Burton's dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael Keaton's work as the tormented hero, and the flawless casting of Danny DeVito as The Penguin, and Christopher Walken as, well, Christopher Walken make the sequel better than the first." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Janet Maslin in The New York Times thought that "Mr. Burton creates a wicked world of misfits, all of them rendered with the mixture of horror, sympathy and playfulness that has become this director's hallmark." She described Michael Keaton as showing "appropriate earnestness", Danny DeVito as "conveying verve", Christopher Walken as "wonderfully debonair", Michelle Pfeiffer as "captivating... fierce, seductive", Bo Welch's production design as "dazzling", Stefan Czapsky's cinematography as "crisp", and Daniel Waters's screenplay as "sharp".

Peter Travers in Rolling Stone wrote: "Burton uses the summer's most explosively entertaining movie to lead us back into the liberating darkness of dreams." He praised the performances: "Pfeiffer gives this feminist avenger a tough core of intelligence and wit; she's a classic dazzler... Michael Keaton's manic-depressive hero remains a remarkably rich creation. And Danny DeVito's mutant Penguin—a balloon-bellied Richard III with a kingdom of sewer freaks—is as hilariously warped as Jack Nicholson's Joker and even quicker with the quips."

Desson Howe in The Washington Post wrote: "Director Burton not only re-creates his one-of-a-kind atmosphere, he one-ups it, even two-ups it. He's best at evoking the psycho-murky worlds in which his characters reside. The Penguin holds court in a penguin-crowded, Phantom of the Opera-like sewer home. Keaton hides in a castle-like mansion, which perfectly mirrors its owner's inner remoteness. Comic strip purists will probably never be happy with a Batman movie. But Returns comes closer than ever to Bob Kane's dark, original strip, which began in 1939." He described Walken as "engaging", DeVito as "exquisite" and Pfeiffer as "deliciously purry."

Todd McCarthy in Variety wrote that "the real accomplishment of the film lies in the amazing physical realization of an imaginative universe. Where Burton's ideas end and those of his collaborators begin is impossible to know, but the result is a seamless, utterly consistent universe full of nasty notions about societal deterioration, greed and other base impulses." He praised the contributions of Stan Winston, Danny Elfman, Bo Welch and cinematographer Stefan Czapsky, and in terms of performances, opined that "the deck is stacked entirely in favour of the villains", calling DeVito "fascinating" and Pfeiffer "very tasty."

Conversely, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars out of four, writing: "I give the movie a negative review, and yet I don't think it's a bad movie; it's more misguided, made with great creativity, but denying us what we more or less deserve from a Batman story. No matter how hard you try, superheroes and film noir don't go together; the very essence of noir is that there are no more heroes." He compared the Penguin negatively with the Joker of the first film, writing that "the Penguin is a curiously meagre and depressing creature; I pitied him, but did not fear him or find him funny. The genius of Danny DeVito is all but swallowed up in the paraphernalia of the role." Jonathan Rosenbaum called DeVito "a pale substitute for Jack Nicholson from the first film" and felt that "there's no suspense in Batman Returns whatsoever".

Batman comic book artist Alex Ross was quoted as saying: "They made up a fictional character that's not in Batman's universe and suddenly he becomes the most exciting character in the film? Well, sorry but that's what you get when you cast Christopher Walken in a role." Ty Burr in Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B−; he wrote that "Burton still hasn't figured out how to tell a coherent story: He's more interested in fashioning pretty beads than in putting them on a string.... Yet for all the wintry weirdness, there's more going on under the surface of this movie than in the original. No wonder some people felt burned by Batman Returns: Tim Burton just may have created the first blockbuster art film."

A "parental backlash" criticized Batman Returns with violence and sexual references that were inappropriate for children despite being given a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association. McDonald's shut down their Happy Meal promotion for the film. Burton responded, "I like Batman Returns better than the first one. There was this big backlash that it was too dark, but I found this movie much less dark."

Batman Returns was released in America on June 19, 1992. It grossed $2 million from Thursday night previews before grossing $45.69 million in 2,644 theatres on its opening weekend. This was the highest opening weekend in 1992 and the highest opening weekend of any film up to that point. The film also set the opening weekend record in the United Kingdom with a gross of £2,774,796 (including £248,350 of previews). It was the first film in the UK to gross £1 million in a day (Saturday, July 11). The film went on to gross $162.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $104.0 million in foreign countries, coming to a worldwide total of $266.8 million. Batman Returns was the third highest-grossing film in America of 1992, and sixth highest in worldwide totals.

Budget $65–80 million

Box office $266.89 million

My Review

Having seen off the evil Joker, the Caped Crusader now has to deal with with two other deadly foes to keep Gotham City safe. The crazy mutant like Penguin and the power crazy megalomaniac in waiting Max Shreck. But wait, just who is this women dressed up like a cat? Friend or Foe? Seems the Dark Knight has a lot on his hands this Christmas.

In 1989 director Tim Burton rekindled the super hero genre for Warner Brothers with his take on Batman. Made for $35 million, recouping over that in its opening weekend, the film went on to make a Worldwide profit of over $375 million. The sequel of course was inevitable, as was the return of Burton, even if he dallied around trying to bluff that he would only return if a script was fresh and exciting. Sure enough, and with Burton getting the script he wanted from Daniel Waters, Batman Returns turned over a profit of over $185 million. Thus ensuring that further franchise instalments were to follow, even if, as it turned out, Burton didn't.

Batman Returns is more breezy than its predecessor, not in humour terms, but in action. In fact for a genre so steeped in sense of humour, Returns is surprisingly devoid of comedy. A charge of both Burton & Waters taking things a little too seriously is hard to argue against. But that's not to decry the good things that run abound in the film. Burton's trademark Gothics exist all told, and it has its darkness, both in themes and in actual visuals. All of course accompanied by a whirling Danny Elfman score. But what of the story itself? Well this perhaps would have been better served as being titled something along the lines of "The Penguin Cometh," for make no fish bones about it, this is the Penguin movie. Batman and Catwoman are in essence just playing henchman and henchwoman, with Max Shrek serving only as plot device that's saying the real villains of our world don't wear masks or costumes. A bold move by Burton to have the Penguin as the lead protagonist, one that financially paid off. But one that ultimately turned many away from revisits for its perceived un- family friendly being. Guilty as charged said Burton, it's his vision and he stands by it. Thus Batman Returns stands up as the most adult of the four Batman movies made in the modern wave from 1989 to 1997. Quite a feat when you consider the film is set during the bastion of all family holidays! Sadly what was to follow would be kiddie friendly fodder served up by Joel Schumacher-reaching a crushing and chronic nadir with Batman & Robin.

The cast are mostly excellent, Keaton does what he can in what is ultimately now a cog in a big wheel role. While Max Shreck gets to play Christopher Walken with relish and oratory menace (yes I did it on purpose). However, it's with Michell Pfeiffer's Catwoman & Danny Devito's Penguin that the film reaches its acting heights. Pfeiffer plays it mousey for Selina Kyle and then leaps at the chance to vamp it up as the delicious Catwoman. With a sultry miaow here and a tippy tappy skip there, this Cat is all in one sexy and very dangerous, something poor Bats is going to have to contend with. But it's DeVito's show all the way. Charged with having to follow Jack Nicholson's film stealing turn from the first film, DeVito immerses himself in the role of the pathetic, deformed, yet dangerously criminal Penguin. It's a monstrous creation fit to grace any modern day horror movie, with DeVito's physicality proving a necessity for the mutant flippered one who was raised in the sewers. If only Danny had been given more opportunities like this to show his talent.

There's many missteps in here too, though. Burton is no master of directing action, and some of the one liners shoe-horned in are poor and pointless. While the whole birth of Catwoman story arc just isn't explained in any way. In fact it's all a bit lazy in truth. Burton though, remains a film maker with his own visual flair, his layering of atmosphere as Gotham is on the brink of collapse is expertly crafted. He has stuff to say and he's going to have fun saying said stuff. Often frustrating he can be for sure, but always he carries a uniqueness into many of his films. Batman Returns is no different in that respect.

There were a lot of things that were excellent about this movie, like the cinematography and the performances, though it isn't as good as the first film. Michael Keaten is suitably brooding as the Dark Knight, better than George Clooney in Batman and Robin (considered as the worst out the franchise, but is and forever will be my favourite) though he is overshadowed by the villains, namely Danny DeVito as the Penguin, who looked as though he was having a ball, and brought a sense of sadness and grotesqueness to the role. Christopher Walken was effective also as Max Schrek. Stealing the show, with her flawless delivery of not-so special lines, is Michelle Pfeiffer as the sexy and manipulative Catwoman. The film looks lovely, with the sets and effects, and Tim Burton directs with detail. However the film does drag, and while there are some intelligent lines from the villains, the script could have been developed a little more. All in all, a dark and entertaining film. Whereas Batman Forever is funnier and more fast paced, Batman Returns is darker, but just lacks the sophistication of the first film. 9.2/10

{The best song/scene is definitely when Selina Kyle transforms into Catwoman. Michelle did such an amazing performance. Such an iconic scene and the music compliments it beautifully}