Batman Returns

The Dark Knight Returns
Batman Returns is very much a Tim Burton film. It is a stranger and darker film than Batman, netherless it is a striking film on several levels.

Michael Keaton returns as the stoic and haunted Dark Knight. Danny DeVito is Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin. In the comic book he's a short rotund man who has an affinity for birds and umbrellas. The character is reinvented here. Born grotesquely disfigured, as an infant, he's cast into the river where he's brought up in a criminal circus gang that lives underground in an abandoned Zoo. Michelle Pfeffer is Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, a beautiful yet mousy secretary who's been pushed too far (of a window) and is out for some serious payback.

These three disturbed characters make this Batman film more adult oriented than the first one. DeVito's Penguin is a tragic figure but is very evil and is looking to strike back at Gotham City any way he can. The grotesque make-up is impressive and DeVito delivers a powerful performance...

A dark and totally wicked classic.
The Dark Knight Bruce Wayne/Batman makes a roaring return in the second outing in the legendary Batman trilogy in a darker & much colder undertone with the mysterious hero now up against two menacing villains. One is a corrupt company CEO named Max Schrek (Christopher Walken) and the other is a deformed murderer named Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin. A third rival character in this movie is difficult to categorize as a villain or a hero. That is the twisted seductive Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Although I don't categorize her as a dangerous murderess, it's very difficult to really say if she's truly a villainess but it's easy to say that she isn't exactly the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of heroism but on the other hand, she's an extremely complex character whose eccentric personality renders one unable to help but really pay a lot of attention to her.

The movie begins in the cold snowy & remote stretches of a haunted mansion somewhere I'm guessing in upper New York state...

Stands the test of time
I recently acquired Batman Returns on Blu-Ray, having not seen the film in a very long time, but always remembering that I liked it better than the original Batman (1989). The first thing that stands out about this movie is how visually stunning it is, and this is all done, for the most part, with sets, miniatures, costumes, and lighting, without relying on the crutch of CGI. Regarding costumes, Keaton's Batman, in particular, looks much sleeker and elegant in this one, compared to the original, and Michele Pfeiffer's Catwoman absolutely lights up the screen in skin-tight shiny black. Of course, Danny Devito's Penguin is made up to be absolutely repulsive and pitiful, but it is, in my opinion, an effective portrayal of Penguin as a horrible little monster. Bo Welch's production design and the cinematography is very sleek and sharp looking, and, although still dark in its hue, the picture is much more crystalline and less murky than the original. In 1080p Hi-Def, Batman Returns...

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