Too many grotesques in the kitchen...

Rating: 4/10 (10 February 2007)

Tim Burton's follow-up to his own 1989 hit "Batman" has Michael Keaton returning as reclusive millionaire Bruce Wayne who doubles as crime-fighter Batman; here, Gotham City is in the middle of a political shakedown, as former circus freak/now celebrity extraordinaire Oswald Cobblepot (a.k.a. The Penguin) has teamed with business tycoon Max Shreck into persuading the residents that he should be the next mayor (apparently no one has noticed the Penguin's henchmen terrorizing all the small businesses on Gotham's mean streets). Meanwhile, Shreck's secretary has learned too much and is pushed from a high window--her life is saved by mystical alley cats and she emerges with a new identity, Catwoman, but with no discernible agenda of her own. This overstuffed live-action comic book adventure features lots of dumb-funny double entendres and the overused plot-device of having the number one crime-fighter look like a dupe at the hands of the villains (they even manage to rewire the Batmobile so that it mows down pedestrians!). However, the picture has drive and imagination to spare, and for about an hour it's a fun ride. Still, Burton's wintry atmosphere and bleak vision of the City as Hell becomes wearing, and by the finale nearly all the juice has leaked from this vehicle. ** from ****