Batman Returns (1992) - “Living for the Batman” Series

So just under thirty years ago, Tim Burton directed a sequel to his HUGELY successful Batman movie of 1989….and he made it even weirder….AND it’s a Christmas movie no less. 

Just in time for the holidays, it’s time to revisit this bizarrely entertaining Bat-Sequel starring Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader, Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Danny Devito as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, and Christopher Walken as Max Shrek.  

And don't forget that mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it….

Host: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/

#livingforthecinema #moviereviews #batmanreturns #michaelkeaton #michellepfeiffer #dannydevito #christopherwalken #timburton #mistletoe

Chapters

• 0:16 Welcome to Living for Batman Series
• 1:07 Title, Year, Director
• 1:13 Trailer, Starring, Genre
• 2:21 Review Begins
• 7:53 1st Category: Best Bat Bit
• 9:04 2nd Category: Best Needle Drop
• 13:07 3rd Category: Trailer Moment
• 15:20 4th Category: Wasted Talent
• 17:02 5th Category: MVP
• 18:25 Geoff's Movie Rating
• 19:06 Availability
• 19:18 End Credits

Transcript

The “Living for the Batman” Series: Amidst an ever-expanding world of cinematic superheroes, the character of Batman remains one of the most iconic.  The first comic book version of the Batman/Bruce Wayne persona was first created for the page by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in 1940 and since the late 1960s, this character has been represented at the movies in various live-action and animated incarnations by at least seven different actors.  Once a month over the next four months, I will be revisiting one movie featuring a different actor playing the Caped Crusader leading up to the U.S. release of The Batman on March 4…..this time starring Robert Pattinson in the title role. (Audio Clip)

Batman Returns - 1992

Directed by Tim Burton (Audio clip)

Starring Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Michael Murphy, and Andrew Bryniarski

Genre: Bizarre Film Featuring Superheroes 

Batman Returns is that rare duck of a movie that has no shortage of great stuff (performances, dialogue, production design, score) and yet barely enough story to qualify as great overall. STORY itself was clearly a secondary concern of Tim Burton's when he directed this and if he wanted to devote SO much time to character flourishes - big and/or weird - I can't really blame him for not being able to hang it all together within a cohesive story. 🤔

I have seen this film now a couple of dozen times and could I provide you with a coherent throughline of the how's and why's of Oscar Cobblepot's actual PLAN? Oscar Cobblepot….otherwise known as The Penguin of course.  Probably not but I still can't take my eyes off of Danny DeVito in this role - he's funny, sympathetic, and grotesque all at once. (Audio clip) 

Even more so Michelle Pfeiffer gives an iconic (a word I don't take lightly) performance as Selina Kyle....yes as a 17 year old first seeing this, her costume certainly played a part in my appreciation of the performance - she has her witty lines and sexy acrobatics too - but oozing throughout her performance is genuine anger and vitriol. Pfeiffer doesn't play her as a brooding, loner anti-hero...more like a balls-out (pun intended), '90's feminist Tyler Durden who is relishing the chance to finally give everyone around her the finger. Except she's struggling to do so with Bruce Wayne of course... (Audio clip) 

Oh right this IS technically still a Batman movie right?? 😊 Well yes it is and the titular character is ALMOST treated as an afterthought for the second film in a row. (Batman '89 was even guiltier of this) But I say almost because, despite his somewhat limited screentime, Michael Keaton is really making the most of this character...ers!

His scenes with Pfeiffer - both as Batman and Bruce - are the highlights, they have great chemistry and the fight choreography is surprisingly strong considering how it has to compete with so much any other visual distractions surrounding it. Keaton's having fun with this character but is also more than up to the task whenever a big moment calls for him to be serious – he’s playing up the duality as someone who is clearly “split right down the center” as we hear him even refer to himself near the end.  (Audio clip) When he’s out of the cape and cowl as Bruce Wayne, Keaton really shines the most as he’s able to really use those arch eyebrows to sell the craziness of what this character is experiencing.  It's still disappointing in retrospect that Keaton walked away from this character after this...

This movie is just SO many disparate things - leather fetish fantasy, corporate satire, Christmas movie, Feminist revenge story, Bat-sequel, political comedy - that I can't fault anyone for considering it a genuine mess! But to me...it's Tim Burton's best film, Michelle Pfeiffer's best performance, and probably THE second-best Batman movie overall (after Batman Begins) albeit with barely enough Batman.

BEST BAT BIT (This series has so many elements which carry over through various incarnations of the Caped Crusader – theme music, Batmobile, villain, Alfred, and even visual gags involving the bat-symbol – and this award goes to the one that stands out the most for this particular entry in Batman film cannon): 

Within the first ten minutes, there’s a very memorable sequence when we hear Commissioner Gordon request that the Bat signal be sent.  We first see the large one light up over Gotham and then….we see a series of bat signals lighting up on the roof of Wayne Manor which culminates in the signal lighting up his living room and Keaton standing upright in front of it looking DETERMINED to save Gotham! 🤨 Of course this begs the question: Would no visitors ever notice these during the day?? Regardless it's a signature Batman moment and it just wouldn't work with an actor who wasn't on the right wavelength.

Best Needle-drops (best song cue or score used throughout the runtime of the film):

Too many to choose from so I’m going to spread the wealth a bit.  Danny Elman’s rambunctious score for the first film in ’89 was probably THE best aspect of that movie and gratefully he returns.  And with him, he brings back his rousing Bat-theme featuring thunderous horns and strings – we hear this over the opening credits and in snippets throughout. (Audio clip) 

It’s a truly TOP-flight orchestral score from Elfman and he also adds some new themes, of course, my favorite being for yup, you guessed it…..Selina Kyle’s transformation into Catwoman.  This music is featured during an intense sequence of Selina ransacking her apartment – smashing a dollhouse, spray-painting pink stuffed animals….basically destroying everything that reminds her of being a helpless little girl.  The music features a building mixture of violins, bass notes on the piano, some horns, and even xylophone into something that’s crescendos into a theme that’s both haunting AND playful.  Just gorgeous music for a standout sequence! (Audio clip) 

And as if Elfman’s contributions weren’t enough, we also have a lush, SOOOOOTHING, and a sexy goth ballad from the legendary British group Siouxsie and the Banshees which formed in the mid-’70s and had a glorious twenty-year run as one of THE more influential female-lead rock bands.  If like me, you came of age during the ’80s or ’90s and had even a BRIEF “goth phase” – which I did, I mean REALLY brief – then listening to the sharp vocals of Susan Janet Ballion otherwise known professionally as “Siouxsie Sioux” had to be literal cat-nip….pun intended. 😉 The ballad is called “Face to Face” and we hear it over the end credits AND during a very critical moment late in the movie….seriously during a time when movie soundtracks were dominating the charts with BIG ballads from the likes of Whitney Huston, Bryan Adams, and Boyz II Men, this remains one of the more underrated cinematic love themes of the ’90s! (Audio clip)

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie) 

And speaking of that critical moment I just referred to….well it’s a doozy and I would even venture to say that it’s THE most cinematic moment included in ANY movie featuring Batman.  Here’s the set-up: Batman and Catwoman have had a few dustups around the rooftops of Gotham City while Bruce Wayne has struck up a romance with Selina Kyle….and of course, neither of them is aware that the other is moonlighting as a superhero/villain even though they have interacted both inside and outside of their costumes.  This all culminates in a moment when they meet each other at a masquerade ball being held by Max Schreck….a masquerade ball where amazingly, they are the ONLY two on the dance floor not wearing costumes or masks.  Hmmm……

And this is of course just one of many reasons why this IS in fact a Christmas movie: mistletoe plays a critical part in this movie and their relationship.  One moment early on in the movie when they are fighting on a high-rise patio in Gotham, Catwoman suddenly has Batman pinned down on the floor…..and she notices mistletoe hanging up above them, she then utters in her Cat-voice, “Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it….a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it.” 

Well now cut to them about an hour later at this ball, dancing with each other when guess what Selina notices above them?  Just playing the audio of this moment doesn’t really do it justice even though the dialogue is both perfectly gonzo and touching.  But to then see the looks on each actor’s face during that key moment of realization, it’s just an indelible piece of cinema which transcends being about comic book characters…..the sets, the costumes, the music playing, of course, ALL combine for a moment that’s both tragic and funny. In my humble opinion, it’s the best moment of ANY movie featuring the character of Batman…..yup even the one featuring Heath Ledger. (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

We’re actually going to go in the opposite direction for a change with this category as this film is actually the rare instance when we see an EXCESS of talent filling the screen at all moments – literally from screenwriter Daniel Waters’ bat-shit dialogue to the crazy baroque Christmas production design from Bo Welch to one of THE earliest examples of Christopher Walken chewing the scenery and just going…..FULL WALKEN as villainous industrialist Max Schrek, it feels at times as if everyone in front of and behind the camera is just letting their freak flag fly! (Audio clip) NO ONE is wasted, not even Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman even though he’s really more part of an ensemble here despite the title.

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

Even though I personally consider this to be Tim Burton’s best movie overall or at least my personal favorite, his direction is flawed at times – like I said, it’s a messy movie.  Whereas Pfeiffer’s performance as Selina Kyle is unassailable…there is more to her than just skin-tight vinyl and a whip.  This is a flawed, troubled character with a satisfying arc though not exactly one that is hopeful – Pfeiffer plays every not just perfectly!  Her character is the TRUE star of this movie even though it has “Batman” in the title and for that reason, Pfeiffer is the MVP.

  (Audio clip)

Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Look I get that Batman Returns is not for everyone.  I remember seeing first seeing it in theaters and even though I ate it up, I was clearly in the minority – this was a film that divided fans and audiences, it was just considered SO weirdly gruesome and perverted that a huge backlash resulted.  After complaints from parents’ groups at the time, McDonald’s even pulled their Batman Returns promotional items from restaurants.  

But for me, it remains one of the most compelling comic book movie adaptations ever made and I really appreciate the freaky turns that it takes…..if you’re looking for some genuine Superhero Christmas weirdness, you really won’t find anything like it!

Streaming on HBO Max