At times silly, at times Gothic, at times dark and gripping

Rating: Null/10 (3 September 2012)

You can see a lot of Tim Burton in this film, for better and for worse. His trademark Gothic style is heavily presented in the design of Gotham City and its various occupants, most of which are either tormented and dark heroes or complete monsters trying to pass as normal citizens. Unfortunately Burton's flair for over the top character is also present, which at times makes it hard to take this film seriously. The Penguin (Danny DeVito) is probably the biggest offender in this regard. Some of his scenes are downright terrifying, with him wobbling around and acting more like a wild beast than a man. But then he wobbles some more, this time clad in nothing but his dirty pyjamas, and the illusion of terror shatters almost instantly. The same applies to his dialogue. It's an odd mix of silliness and threat that either works brilliantly or utterly fails, there's very little middle ground with this character.
This same ambivalence is present in almost all of the characters, with the exception of Batman (Michael Keaton), although he has his own flaws as well, the biggest being that he's not really the focus of the film. This film is more about the Penguin and the Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Batman is just there to move the plot along, which makes him rather uninteresting, which is a cardinal offence in my books, as this is a Batman film after all.
All that being said, the plot of this film isn't that bad. Batman: The Animated Series once did an episode about the Penguin trying to join the normal, civilized society, trying to combat his inner weirdness and the prejudice of the common folk, who fear his odd appearance and animalistic themes. That episode really worked in my opinion and why not, as it is a very good idea for this particular character. The Penguin, like so many other Batman villains, is all about duality - in his case about the battle between his noble heritage and his savage upbringing, which makes for a great tragedy. And while the movie doesn't explore these themes as well as it perhaps could have, it touches upon many of them and at least makes the effort to try.
Still, I just can't get past all those silly scenes where the previous Gothic mood completely shatters and the whole process starts all over again with the next scene. If you're a fan of Burton or Batman, you should give this one a try as it is a rather touching film and good one in its own way, but if you can't deal with sudden mood changes and a certain level of random silliness, this movie really isn't for you.