Certainly the darkest entry in the Batman series

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2002)

While lacking the fabulous villain in the form of Jack Nicholson as the Joker, which made the first film so great, Batman Returns does delve into the more dark and disturbing side of life in Gotham which, although I feel this is a lesser film, has some of the finest moments in the Batman film series.
With three main villains competing for screen time with Batman himself, ultimately, none of them are sufficiently developed. One of the most common criticisms of this film is that none of the villains match the Joker. One feels though, if it were just Catwoman or the Penguin in this film then they could have been just as much of a match for the Joker. The Joker is so memorable because Jack Nicholson has so much screen time to play around with the character without force-feeding the audience plot-developing lines of dialogue as many characters in this film are.
However Catwoman is simply delightful and alluring, and for me, Max Shrek (Christopher Walken at his most psychotic best) is wonderful. Early scenes between Shrek and Selina Kyle, are the best in the film with Walken being both incredibly menacing and hilariously funny at the same time.