Family values come up unexpectedly in Batman Returns.

Rating: 4/10 (25 October 2001)

Poor Danny DeVito is the Penguin, a fine-feathered villain who turns out bad because he was dumped by his parents. The baby was raised by birds, and now it's hard to tell if he's foul, or fowl. His sad saga is only one of the many threads that tangle the plot of Tim Burton's partially successful, but really bad, sequel to his 1989 Batman. In Returns, we're given three villains for the price of one, but more is not always better. Any one of them could have carried his, or her, own movie, but here they just keep stepping on each other's toes (paws? claws?). The paws are provided by the marvelous Michelle Pfeiffer, as Catwoman. She gets the funniest lines and knows just what to do with them. She is spectacular in her basic black, home-sewn catsuit and her spike-heeled boots. The bullwhip is the perfect accessory to complete the outfit. Too bad the script can't quite figure out what she represents. DeVito is fine, but his birdman of Gotham, badly in need of a visit to the dentist, grows a tad wearisome. Christopher Walken completes the villainous trilogy as Max Shreck (great name), the unscrupulous businessman whose greed may be the downfall of Batman's hometown. He wisely, and skillfully, plays it down.
Oh, yes, before we forget--there is what seems like a cameo appearance by Michael Keaton, as the caped crusader himself. The story is overly complicated, the transitions between story lines rather bumpy and the characters (with the exception of that darn Cat) don't really grab our interest. Still, the movie is a visual marvel, great at putting its money where our eyes are, and that's no guano. Would love to see more of Pfeiffer's kitten with a whip in future installments. Don't miss the credits at the end of Batman Returns, to see who plays the Penguin's daddy.