Re-Review of Batman Returns

[Gotham Knight]

The Unsung hero

I?d first like to thank the members and faculty of BATMAN MOVIE ONLINE for letting me obsess over two underrated films that will likely never see a conclusion.

I?ve decided over bashing you with information that?s been over (and over) thought seems at this point an exercise in over saturation and I will strive to give you my pure raw feelings and perspective toward BATMAN RETURNS.

All right, lets get on with it, shall we?

BATMAN RETURNS

Michael Keaton returns to the role of the dark knight. When we find his character, we quickly discover that Batman has settled into the (Anti)heroic duties in Gotham City, while Bruce Wayne has entered a reclusive lifestyle.  One would think with that set up Bruce is destined to take a back seat, occasionally moving a strenuous romantic subplot while his crime fighting alter ego expediently goes to hacking his way through a new host of adversaries as was the case of a lot of superhero films, and was more or less the case of the film?s predecessor. Not this time. What?s interesting about this go round is that Keaton is allowed to explore Bruce Wayne more as an older character who has slunk further into the shadows and begun to fuse with his Batman persona. While it is widely agreed among diehard fans that Bruce Wayne?s identity is almost non-existent, and that is indeed the case when we first see Bruce Wayne brooding alone in the dark, Returns capitalizes on what Vicki Vale did to evolve the character to a point where it is believable to think that Bruce Wayne is not completely absent and merely the weaker identity, who by seeing a life he could have had is starting to gain momentum once Selina comes into the picture. For the better part of the first quarter of the film, Batman is nothing but the detective, tirelessly researching the mysterious Penguin man, until he meets a reborn Selina Kyle.

Furthermore one has to look at Batman as the anti-hero. He moves violently on a path of vengeance. For Batfans who claim this is an inappropriate place to take Batman have far too much loyalty in the written pages of Batman: Year One (A brilliant story that helped cement Batman back into his dark roots but hardly definitive, Dennis O?Neil truly began putting the ?dark? back years earlier) and not the realistic and fluid progression of a personality. Batman, no matter how you slice him in any portrayal, is a deranged/scarred individual who is acting on what he has been programmed to do by a deranged/scarred society. Can I get away with a comparison? (pleeeassseeee, pretty pleasssseee) Within that context, Batman has been taken to ?the best case scenario? with West/Clooney, and the ?middle ground? with Kilmer/Bale. In each of these I?ve found the character, more often than not, ends up getting caught in a host of hypocrisies that alone help grow the character as person, but together start me to seriously questioning what the director is trying to do. Example, Nolan?s Batman proclaims not to kill, then does so, claims that he will solely upload justice and not take revenge, yet rather than become a police officer, has put on a bat costume, and recently in The Dark Knight, has started spying on the private lives of others.(Do I have to point out the irony there?) Each of these elements serve to grow the character singularly, but together point out the flaws of trying to make him too heroic or with the ladder subject in TDK too relevant in issues with America?s current government policy in the first place and why the world doesn?t need another superman. It needs someone who can represent some of society?s most grotesque human qualities and still be allowed to have someone say, ?That?s a hero.? When Burton took Batman to the ?worst case scenario,? as sadistic as he became in his lowest points, there was something honestly human about it. It presents to us the ugly truth about human society and tells us not to be fooled by the holier than thou attitude so many try to disguise themselves with. At one point or another, we?ve all succumbed to something that might make another cringe and see us as animal and hideous. But, we?ve also pushed our limits in how far we can go for the right call?the noble call. That?s the beauty of having a hero that has done the same thing. He doesn?t have to represent the best qualities in us that none of us encompass individually ?he needs only to represent us?flaws and all. Burton?s Batman encompassed humanity.

The primary focus of Bruce Wayne is the relationship with Selina, saying that YES there CAN be a Bruce, and together Keaton and Pfeiffer have the best on screen chemistry in any comic book film. It?s funny, genuine, and even slightly disturbing to watch him confess his inability to reconcile his duality. By establishing an equal, Bruce Wayne can be more than a farce. It also establishes a transitional story for Batman. By the time he discovers that Selina and Catwoman are one and the same he is struck with a revelation of just how similar they are. Like Batman in the first film, Selina is on a path of revenge against the sadist appendage of Gotham City that created her.  In being able to, in a way, step outside of himself, Bruce can see the folly of his ways, of course, too late save Selina and achieve some kind of wholeness with her, but enough to suggest that Shreck be taken to the police rather than brutally murdered off.

Michelle Pfeifer and Burton together created the most powerful vision of a female anti-heroine in any comic book film. It was unique because typically while a strong female character in film lead by a male can usually pick spots for ballsiness, is still ultimately made the victim screaming for assistance (though one could argue that the climax of the film indeed gives us a conflicted, victimized Selina reaching out.) She is the very picture of extreme feminism and sensuality and I love every minute of it. She is also the mirror image of Batman two times more angry and sadistic. She is Batman from B89 caught in a downward spiral unable to rationalize what?s happened to her beyond herself. Batman could at least find interest in the common good. Catwoman can?t see it?yet. And it?s through her that Batman can finally make the better choices that will concrete him as a hero and not a madman?even if it costs him just a much of his soul.

Like Batman she goes through a life altering transformation. She is a victim of Gotham City rather than a victim victimized in Gotham. I?ve always said that the truly heinous people in Burton?s Gotham are appendages of the city and ultimately a critique of society and its underbelly. You basically have two extremes connected into one another around gray matter, mirroring each other?making each other, a vicious circle of violence that only begets more violence? as Batman said of Joker in B89. It?s a dark city and the oddities its spawns are their super villains?or heroes. Dark City, dark heroes. I firmly believe in Catwoman as an anti-hero arch that Burton kept alive for the purpose of revisiting.

Oswald (Penguin) is a sympathetic villain to say the least as an orphan with a grudge against people and their alienating culture. He is the high point of the larger critique of society in Burton?s film. He was doomed to be evil by the people surrounding him all because of how he looked. His portrayal shames pseudo-intellectuals who constantly reiterate how you live your life or behave is entirely your choice and no one else?s. It proclaims that half the choices you make are by somebody else. His parents left him to rot, his freakish appearance forced him to live like an animal. Sometimes you?re messed up no matter what and even though he is insane and barbaric, we can only blame ourselves for not embracing him in the first place and thus avoiding what he became.

I don?t subscribe to the idea that because he isn?t exactly what was seen in the comics that he automatically couldn?t be a valid interpretation or just straight up better. I?ll go ahead and say it. Penguin was a weak ass villain in the comic books, an insufferable bore.
Danny Devito and Tim gave him what he was lacking?character.

Max Shreck is Christopher Walken at his best. He steps into Jack Nicholson?s shoes as the bad ass with few ties and a sadistic issue with the city at large with power in his sights. Max Shreck is film noir through and through, moral ambiguity to the max. He is the puppet master of the movie, the catalyst that starts the fire. He kills Selina Kyle, he manipulates Oswald, and he?s white collar and savvy enough elude Batman?s detection. I personally see him as Tim Burton?s dark alter ego that subtly movies the major storyline. Fabulous original character.

What?s fascinating about this movie is that it is only a comic book movie at face value. It has characters of a comic book nature in it and has enough explosions in it to satisfy a more lax action crowd. Beyond that it is really a solid character study and character drama. The plot itself is very basic. Batman battles against the duo of the Penguin and Catwoman while Max Shreck tries to stock pile Gotham?s power into a generator to gain personal power. The soul of this film is the analysis of Batman and the world he lives in.

The true heart of the movie comes from four places. One, the interconnecting relationships, most notably Catwoman/Kyle and Batman/Wayne & Max Shreck and Ossy/Penguin.

Two, the way in which truly all the characters reflect one side of Bruce Wayne. The joyless bureaucrat, the revengeful orphan outcast who has been alienated either by society or himself, and the balance of a dual identity that takes its toll on one?s soul.

Three, the shocking visuals that tell a story of their own. Anyone who claims that Burton is just a visual director and the only way he tells his stories is through flashy imagery?I don?t agree, but visuals are a strong forte of his...and if we assume that assessment is true?have you ever seen a silent movie?Not exactly know for the bitchin? dialogue, yet some of them manage to be the argued as some of the greatest films ever made?nuff said.

A piece of Batman?s soul was lost before the final credits rolled. His victory was hollow?as were the films that followed in Batman Returns? footsteps.

[thecolorsblend]

Batman, no matter how you slice him in any portrayal, is a deranged/scarred individual who is acting on what he has been programmed to do by a deranged/scarred society. Can I get away with a comparison? (pleeeassseeee, pretty pleasssseee) Within that context, Batman has been taken to ?the best case scenario? with West/Clooney, and the ?middle ground? with Kilmer/Bale. In each of these I?ve found the character, more often than not, ends up getting caught in a host of hypocrisies that alone help grow the character as person, but together start me to seriously questioning what the director is trying to do. Example, Nolan?s Batman proclaims not to kill, then does so, claims that he will solely upload justice and not take revenge, yet rather than become a police officer, has put on a bat costume, and recently in The Dark Knight, has started spying on the private lives of others.(Do I have to point out the irony there?) Each of these elements serve to grow the character singularly, but together point out the flaws of trying to make him too heroic or with the ladder subject in TDK too relevant in issues with America?s current government policy in the first place and why the world doesn?t need another superman. It needs someone who can represent some of society?s most grotesque human qualities and still be allowed to have someone say, ?That?s a hero.? When Burton took Batman to the ?worst case scenario,? as sadistic as he became in his lowest points, there was something honestly human about it. It presents to us the ugly truth about human society and tells us not to be fooled by the holier than thou attitude so many try to disguise themselves with. At one point or another, we?ve all succumbed to something that might make another cringe and see us as animal and hideous. But, we?ve also pushed our limits in how far we can go for the right call?the noble call. That?s the beauty of having a hero that has done the same thing. He doesn?t have to represent the best qualities in us that none of us encompass individually ?he needs only to represent us?flaws and all. Burton?s Batman encompassed humanity.

Bingo.  Batman is a character founded upon contradictions... but NOT hypocrisy.  Batman wants to protect the innocent by taking down the bad guys before or while they do their dirty work, not wait for them to kill someone and then maybe go looking for them later like the cops do.

In trying to protect the law, he has to break it.  The Keaton Batman had the proper psychological profile to do just that.  I don't buy the "virtuous hero" angle the Nolan franchise is shooting for because it inevitably strays away from the "contradiction" angle (the character's bedrock) and straight into "hypocrisy".  The Keaton/Burton portrayal is the more psychologically convincing of the two.

The primary focus of Bruce Wayne is the relationship with Selina, saying that YES there CAN be a Bruce, and together Keaton and Pfeiffer have the best on screen chemistry in any comic book film. It?s funny, genuine, and even slightly disturbing to watch him confess his inability to reconcile his duality.

I think it says a lot about Bruce that he saved Selina from the circus gang and pretty much forgot about her.  There was a definite sense of disinterest after the intial threat had passed.  When he meets her again after her transformation (ie, she went nuts), he's immediately smitten.

She is the very picture of extreme feminism and sensuality and I love every minute of it.

Not just sensuality, sexuality.  It's no stretch to think that pre-Catwoman relationshipy had an unsatisfactory romantic history.  Certainly she'd repressed her sexuality in many ways.  Catwoman is the representation of the pendulum swinging the other way as all of those things and more become unhinged.

Oswald (Penguin) is a sympathetic villain to say the least as an orphan with a grudge against people and their alienating culture. He is the high point of the larger critique of society in Burton?s film. He was doomed to be evil by the people surrounding him all because of how he looked. His portrayal shames pseudo-intellectuals who constantly reiterate how you live your life or behave is entirely your choice and no one else?s. It proclaims that half the choices you make are by somebody else. His parents left him to rot, his freakish appearance forced him to live like an animal. Sometimes you?re messed up no matter what and even though he is insane and barbaric, we can only blame ourselves for not embracing him in the first place and thus avoiding what he became.

True, but look how quickly he put aside his quest for revenge against the city when the prospect of becoming mayor came along.  He was sincerely willing to let bygones be bygones if the city and the people were willing to offer him love and validation now.  Once they rejected him, booed him off the stage and chased him into the park, they had sealed their own fate.

Ironically, it was another "freak" they had chased away that would be willing to let bygones be bygones and come to their rescue.

A lot is being said about Penguin, Batman and the people of Gotham City in those scenes.

I don?t subscribe to the idea that because he isn?t exactly what was seen in the comics that he automatically couldn?t be a valid interpretation or just straight up better. I?ll go ahead and say it. Penguin was a weak ass villain in the comic books, an insufferable bore.
Danny Devito and Tim gave him what he was lacking?character.

Precisely.  There never WAS a character there.  WB forced Burton to use the villain so he adapted a few things here and there from the comics that he related to and invented the rest.  It's funny to me that nobody is complaining about Crane being essentially Arkham Asylum's lead psychologist (perhaps even founder?) in BB, rather than a college psychology prof who sadistically experimented on his students.

The true heart of the movie comes from four places. One, the interconnecting relationships, most notably Catwoman/Kyle and Batman/Wayne & Max Shreck and Ossy/Penguin.

Two, the way in which truly all the characters reflect one side of Bruce Wayne. The joyless bureaucrat, the revengeful orphan outcast who has been alienated either by society or himself, and the balance of a dual identity that takes its toll on one?s soul.

QFT

Three, the shocking visuals that tell a story of their own. Anyone who claims that Burton is just a visual director and the only way he tells his stories is through flashy imagery?I don?t agree, but visuals are a strong forte of his...and if we assume that assessment is true?have you ever seen a silent movie?Not exactly know for the bitchin? dialogue, yet some of them manage to be the argued as some of the greatest films ever made?nuff said.

In those terms, I don't see "visual filmmaking" as a criticism.  It's as much as a visual medium as anything.  Personally I appreciated the ambiguities Burton set up and the gentleness with which he told his story as opposed to the cinematic mugging that BB was with all that heavy, expository dialogue and whatnot.

[Sandman]

A piece of Batman's soul was lost before the final credits rolled. His victory was hollow as were the films that followed in Batman Returns’ footsteps.

Couldn't agree more even with the new series i don't feel the darkness or sadness that you fell in this movie. Just wondering what would you give this movie GK B+, A-, C ?

[Gotham Knight]

I think it says a lot about Bruce that he saved Selina from the circus gang and pretty much forgot about her.  There was a definite sense of disinterest after the intial threat had passed.  When he meets her again after her transformation (ie, she went nuts), he's immediately smitten.

THATS RIGHT. OH MAN, totally forgot that part. Pre tansformation the shots she gets when she's with another prime character usually has her pushed back in a submisssive 'off to the side' thing and moe pointedly, Batman ignores her pre catwoman, and goes wild for her in Shreck's office post Catwoman. Good point. Totally forgot it.

Oh and Sandman

A+

[ZUPERZERO]

There are many James Whale's "Bride of Frankeinstein" references:
the prologue of both films are very similar:
The 1rst Scene Burton drive us to the Coplebot's Manor on The Pinguin's birthday: we see Pinguin's Father watching the icestorm; on the Bride of Frankeinstein on the 1rst scene we see Mary Shelley's Manor and (i belive) lord Byron Character is watching the storm, the rooms are very similar too

The Catwoman costume is a clearly a reference to Frankeinstein, she is like the Bride of Frankeinstein (or Batman), she is some kind of batman creation, because on the scene where BAtman save Selina she obvously gets influenced by the Batman monster

other reference i remember now is the way pinguin die, is very similar the way James Whale the director of Frankeinstein and Frankeinstein 2(The Bride) die: drowned on his pool.

Burton and Whale only get to do the 2 first movies of the franchise, and i don't believe Burton was concern about that in the time "Batman Returns" was made

[thecolorsblend]

The Catwoman costume is a clearly a reference to Frankeinstein

Not really.  The costume designer claimed to have seen a magazine ad where a woman was put together from parts of other women and the stitching added a grosteque quality to it.  Obviously the symbolism is that Catwoman is herself stitched together and as the movie progresses, her tattering costume splintering into pieces reflects her psyche slowly becoming torn apart.

[ZUPERZERO]

i also saw that interview to the costume designer, but i really think that's what Burton have in mind when he creates his Catwoman, he just was finishing his own frankenstein story: Edward Siscorhands, and in "Nightmare before.." are also Frankeisntein and the Bride references like the "Sally" Character wich is also fragmented and his creator.

im a fan of Burton works since Pee-Wee and i honestly believe Burton was very much on that Frankenstein trip between the years 89-94, but maybe im wrong

[Paul (ral)]

The review has been added to the features section of the main site.

Thanks Gotham Knight for the insightful review.