"Batman Returns" brought Tim Burton back to the Batman franchise after 1989's incredibly successful first outing. The movie proved to be a financial success but opinion is divided on whether or not the movie lived up to its now iconic predecessor.
This time around, Batman (Michael Keaton) faces off against a pair of his longtime nemeses - the Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Plot-wise, the Penguin teams up with a corrupt businessman (Christopher Walken) in order to essentially take control of Gotham City. Catwoman, meanwhile, has her own reasons for getting in on the action.
I find that "Batman Returns" has a more pronounced Tim Burton feel than "Batman", which isn't surprising considering that he was given more creative control. Whether that's a good or a bad thing for the movie is subject to debate. Personally, I find that this is where the franchise started gravitating towards the cartoonish aspects of the character's universe, which would only get worse with the poorly regarded third & fourth films.
The cast is pretty decent but it's tough to fill the hole left by Jack Nicholson. Nevertheless, Danny DeVito is effective as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer is alluring as the leather-clad Catwoman. Christoper Walken, meanwhile, supplies a typically Christopher Walken-esque performance as only he can. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of introducing all of these characters is that Batman himself is noticeably absent for most of the beginning of the movie.
Burton's direction is solid as always but the visuals just seem to lack something in comparison to the first film. Perhaps it's the Christmas setting or maybe it's just that the production design in general isn't as ominous. At least they were able to get Danny Elfman back to handle the music again.
Ultimately, I think that "Batman Returns" is a decent follow-up but no match for the first movie. Saying that it's better than "Batman Forever" and "Batman & Robin" doesn't count for much but I would say that it's a reasonably entertaining superhero movie, all things considered. It's just that, with the glut of superhero movies in recent years, it's no longer particularly remarkable.
