is any one glad this third burton film never happened?

[riddler]

It's easy to understand why Keaton was burned out after the initial sequel because he had virtually nothing to do in Returns.

I think that's a little harsh. Penguin, Catwoman and Schreck did have more of the focus, but Bruce/Batman was still prominent to what was going in the plot and how he reflected the villains.

That being said, I always prefer that movies based on comics focus on one main villain only because it allows equal screen time for the hero. So I can definitely understand how you'd prefer Catwoman and Penguin appearing in two separate films, even if I believe BR is the best film for having multiple villains than most superhero films.

You could make the argument that Burton is the only Batman director to have two villains in a film and not get criticized for under-developing either
Two face was under developed in Batman Forever and basically reduced to an extended cameo in the Dark Knight. Mr. Freeze was rushed in Batman and Robin, the Scarecrow wasn't fleshed out in Batman Begins, and Selina Kyle arguably didn't even become Catwoman in the Dark Knight Rises.

[The Laughing Fish]

It's easy to understand why Keaton was burned out after the initial sequel because he had virtually nothing to do in Returns.

I think that's a little harsh. Penguin, Catwoman and Schreck did have more of the focus, but Bruce/Batman was still prominent to what was going in the plot and how he reflected the villains.

That being said, I always prefer that movies based on comics focus on one main villain only because it allows equal screen time for the hero. So I can definitely understand how you'd prefer Catwoman and Penguin appearing in two separate films, even if I believe BR is the best film for having multiple villains than most superhero films.

You could make the argument that Burton is the only Batman director to have two villains in a film and not get criticized for under-developing either
Two face was under developed in Batman Forever and basically reduced to an extended cameo in the Dark Knight. Mr. Freeze was rushed in Batman and Robin, the Scarecrow wasn't fleshed out in Batman Begins, and Selina Kyle arguably didn't even become Catwoman in the Dark Knight Rises.

For better or worse, Tim Burton certainly started the trend of Batman movies having 2+ villains. But the difference is that Penguin, Catwoman and Max Schreck are all integral to the plot. Penguin and Catwoman have the most character development and each have something in common with Batman on an emotional level, and you have Schreck fitting in between the two trying to manipulate everybody at large. Whereas most subsequent Batman films tend to have multiple villains either to serve as henchmen for the big bad or - as you say - are simply rushed.

I thought Mr. Freeze was the main villain because we were shown he was doing everything for his love for Nora. Bane, on the other hand, could've been any other regular dumb henchman and didn't need to be there.

Objectively, I can say Anne Hathaway's Selina was closer to the traditional Catwoman than Michelle Pfeiffer. But the problem is her part was uneven because one minute she's a conniving sociopath who doesn't care who she hurts as long as she gets her hands on the Clean Slate, then in the next minute she suddenly becomes a compassionate person. It was supposed to be because she felt guilty that the man she had bankrupted was Batman all along. But considering her disdain for the rich as she expressed in the gala scene, I thought she would've hated Bruce even more because he was donating his time to commit violence as a solution for society's ills instead doing more for charity. In my opinion, it would've made a lot more sense if Selina Kyle was a misguided social crusader who joined forces with Bane in the best intentions to save the poor, but realised she made a terrible mistake and tries to redeem herself.

[Andrew]

I thought BR was a big improvement over B89 but I didn't like that in both the villains got a lot more of the time and focus and three films in a row like that would have really been too much.

I don't have a problem with that, especially if the villains in question are interesting. It's not really unique to Burton either, because Bane sure did have a lot of screen time in TDK Rises as well.

Probably, and especially Joker in TDK. I still think three times in a row would feel too unbalanced, more appropriate to focus more on the hero (and it would make sense to do that more in the first but the third in a different direction also makes sense).

If a character isn't memorable, usually it's because they don't get enough time to make an impression. I think that's true of Nolan's Catwoman.

I think the problem was more the actress didn't have enough charisma.

BTW, while Robin Williams could have made a good dark Riddler (if he agreed to, he probably would still be upset over the B89 negotiations) I really liked him in Jumanji (and that whole film) and it would be a shame if he hadn't done that.