"You're just jealous, because I'm a genuine freak and you have to wear a mask!"  - The Penguin

The Recap

After the runaway success of 1989's Batman, Tim Burton was turned from a successful new director to a real power player in Hollywood. Unsure if he wanted to make a sequel, he went away and made the magical Edward Scissorhands, but was lured back to Gotham by a script penned by Heather's writer Daniel Waters which would see Batman having to raise his game and take on two nemeses determined to stop the dark knight in his tracks.

We open to the scene of a child being born but it soon emerges that something is drastically wrong and after the family cat becomes a snack for the flipper handed child, his parents take him to Gotham Zoo and throw him into the murky waters in his basket.

Years pass and thanks to the presence of Batman, Gotham's streets have cleaned up but this time the shady under dealings are taking place in the world of business instead. Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) is determined to build a power station which, unknown to the masses, will drain the city of power, leaving him the monopoly.

In business mode, Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) tries to stand in his way but his alter-ego is soon distracted when Max is kidnapped by a posse of circus performers who take him deep underground to their ringleader The Penguin (Danny DeVito) who wants help in making his way above ground. They hatch a plan for the mayor's son to be kidnapped and he is ‘rescued' by The Penguin, making him a hero.

Back at Max's officen downtrodden secretary Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer) becomes aware of the ultimate plan with regards to the power station and in a fit of anger Max throws her out of the window to what he thinks is her death. Unfortunately,he did not measure the power of Gotham's cats and soon Selina is reborn as Catwoman, who is out for revenge at all costs.

With Max's plan for the power station going down like a lead balloon with the mayor, Max decides to throw his support behind The Penguin to become new mayor of Gotham and the two work on a crime spree to ensure the current mayor's record is tarnished. The Penguin and Catwoman also team up to get Batman off the streets by framing him for murder, an unfortunate coincidence as Catwoman and Batman's alter egos are starting up a romantic relationship.

Batman soon turns the tables and The Penguin is exposed for what he really is. In a final act of revenge, he kidnaps the first born sons of each of the elite Gotham families but is again foiled by Batman. They fight and only Batman emerges as the winner. Meanwhile, Catwoman finally gets her claws into Max, exacting her revenge.

Presumed dead, Bruce mourns for Selina but as he is driving through Gotham one night, sees her shadow on the wall. He stops only to find her cat, which he takes back with him. As the bat signal lights up the sky, Catwoman watches it from the distance.

Reaction & Thoughts

Criticised by some for being much darker and less family friendly than the first outing, Batman Returns is a welcome return to the Batman franchise. Stepping back into the bat suit Keaton is successful in picking up the split personality of Bruce Wayne/Batman and slips into the darker undertone of his existence. With less screen time than the movie's villains (apparently a request from Keaton himself), the torment he feels of being two different people is never more apparent than as his romance begins with Selina and the realisation they are actually cut from the same thread and could probably be very good for each other, but never getting the happy ending.

As the movie's villain, Pfeiffer has never been move alive on screen than she is in this movie. Playing each side of Selina/Catwoman's personality off each other makes for an interesting character mix of helpless, sexy, fierce and slightly crazy. As I mentioned above, the romance between Bruce and Selina makes for some great character development and, although sometimes as a plot device it drives me crazy, I really liked the fact Catwoman was left alive as it could have made for some interesting further developments. However, if I knew then it would eventually lead to Halle Berry slipping into the role I might have had a change of heart.

DeVito was born to take on the role as The Penguin and you can tell from his performance he was having the time of his life. Although you firstly ultimately feel sorry for him due to the fact his parents (fantastic cameos from Pee-wee's Big Adventure's Paul Reubens and Diane Salinger) disposed of him so easily as a child, his pure evilness just seeps through and his ultimate plan to kill the first sons of Gotham is so deliciously awful his comeuppance is well deserved.

Special mention must also be given to Christopher Walken who is always a joy to watch on screen but really takes the reins and gives Max the right amount of greed and evil.

Once again, Gotham comes to life in the safe hands of Burton and his gothic vision is now laced with an art deco feeling that brings the city to life just that little bit more. The bat suit also gets a bit of an update and on screen looks superior to the previous version. I also really like the feel of The Penguin's circus gang as they pop on the screen and add just the right amount of camp to the dark undertones of the movie.

Although a film that satisfied the majority of the Batman fan base and was a box office success, Warner Bros. felt it should have made more money and blamed the bleakness of the story for the numbers, along with the fact there had been a parental backlash over the violence and sexual references used. This even caused McDonald's to drop their Happy Meal tie-in, which does pose the question: who actually thought after watching a preview of the movie that a Happy Meal tie-in would be a good idea?

With Warner Bros. wanting to make Batman more mainstream, Burton bid adieu to the series (only serving as producer on Batman Forever) and the Batman movies took a sudden and sharp quality dive until Batman & Robin killed the series off altogether to be re-booted later by the fantastic Christopher Nolan.

Next on Burton's list was to write and produce the now classic family favourite The Nightmare Before Christmas (commitments on Batman Returns kept him away from the director's seat) and to co-produce his first flop movie Cabin Boy. He then took on a film that has since built a cult fan base. Next time I'll be looking at unusual but wonderful Ed Wood.

Batman Returns Key Info
Released: 19th June 1992 US / 10th July 1992 UK
Distributed By: Warner Bros.
Budget: $80,000,000
Box Office Gross: $266,830,000
Best DVD Edition: Batman Returns Two-Disc Special Edition 

• Revisiting Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
• A look back at Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice
• Looking back at Tim Burton's Batman
• Revisiting Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands