Merry Christmas Alfred...

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2008)

It was around 1995 when I saw Batman Returns (I was five) and the image of the Penguin carrying an umbrella that functions as both a machine gun and sword (and many more) was iconic. I remember a lot from this movie than the first one. One of the reasons why I enjoy this is because of their choice of Keaton and his take on Batman even though this is his second time.
Tim Burton skillfully depicts Gotham City the way I envisioned it, well at least way before Batman Begins came out. Without looking at the characters and Gotham itself, I could feel the "gothic" ambiance which probably gave the city its name. Michael Keaton as Batman, although only second to Christian Bale for me, does a great job as the brooding creature of the night and as the civilized Bruce Wayne. But, from my observations, his role here seems reduced compared to the first, it felt like he only had a few lines. Speaking about roles, boy did Commissioner Gordon lost a lot of his already minor role. DeVito rules as the Penguin. You kind of pity him during the first parts of the movie then as it progresses you find him even more pitiful as a misunderstood villain. I guess Pfeiffer's Catwoman was right-on but I honestly didn't understand her primary role throughout the duration of the movie. Christopher Walken is wonderful as always. For some reason, he bears a slight resemblance to Jack Sparrow and even shows a hint of his personality here. Everything in this movie seems to fall into the right place if you disregard realism and errors like how the Penguin got a wacky replica of the Batmobile in just a few days (maybe it's possible), how a duck could work as an amphibian vehicle, why a member of the Penguin's circus gang had to fight Batman while swallowing a sword when it would be easier to hold it with his hands, how the bat-signal formed perfectly in the sky, etc. I believe Returns didn't get a lot of attention, so that sucks. Overall this movie is superb as a Batman film and, if you like, a Christmas film as well. It's better than Batman '89 in some ways but again it just lacked attention.