REVIEW: BATMAN RETURNS
Brian L. Johnson
BATMAN RETURNS
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson
121 min., PG-13, Action, 1992
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito,
Christopher Walken, Paul Reubens, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle,
Michael Murphy, Vincent Schiavelli, Jan Hooks, Cristi Conaway
Gotham City is being plagued with violence and Batman (Michael
Keaton) is called back for help. This time two new criminals are
brought fourth, The Penguin (Danny DeVito), and the secretary with an
attitude problem, The Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). These two criminals
try to bring down Batman to their level to get rid of him.
BATMAN RETURNS is an extremely good sequel to the original film,
BATMAN, which is almost as good as the original. I feel that the
director, Tim Burton, has yet again created a wonderful film, that will
probably be loved by both children and adults. Where BATMAN RETURNS
doesn't have all the characterization that BATMAN had, it does have more
violence. On a scale of zero to five I give BATMAN RETURNS a five.
BATMAN RETURNS is rated PG-13 for violence, adult situations, and
explicit language.
Like in the original, Gotham City looks like the New York City of
the future. It is filled with towering buildings, and as far as I can
tell, has no trees. Gotham City doesn't look like the nicest place to
live, but it is wonderfully designed. When I was watching this movie, I
kept thinking of how much money must have gone into this city. The are
also some stunning visual shot of the city which enhances the film more.
Like in the original, BATMAN RETURNS has a lot of characterization,
although not as heavy as it was in the first, so creating a three
dimensional criminal, instead of the one dimensional criminal portrayed
in most movies. The reasons for why the criminal does what he does are
explained, and overall creates a much more interesting movie.
BATMAN RETURNS easily ranks as one of the best ten sequels that I
have seen. I hope that when BATMAN 3, which I am sure is already being
worked on, is released that it will be as good as this one. Tim Burton
seems to give Batman the touch that it needs, which unfortunately I
haven't found with the other films by him that I have seen. BEETLEJUICE
wasn't that good of a movie; PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE ... well, I think
this one speaks for itself; and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS seemed to be missing
something. I think that in Tim Burton's hands Batman has a lot of
potential and I hope to see more of him soon.
This film will definitely lose a lot of its impact on video
cassette. If you plan to see this movie, I highly suggest that you try
to find a theater that is still playing it to view it. It is worth
whatever price you have to pay.