Hindsight reveals its flaws

Rating: 7/10 (22 June 2011)

At a time when we were starved of superhero movies, Tim Burton's Batman Returns followed his Batman and was a second oasis in the middle of the desert. And, as with the first (and as is the case with all Burton's movies), production design was a great strength - this film looks terrific.
A critical retrospective examination reveals flaws, however. Keaton's Bruce Wayne/Batman is still a terrific portrayal, flawed only by Keaton's diminutive stature. Danny DeVito's Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman are both interesting interpretations, and visually fascinating, although I'm not sure this version of the Penguin works for me.
Christopher Walken, always good value as a baddie, is one villain too many, however, and my main criticism of the first film - an over-emphasis on the villains at the expense of the titular character - is even more justified by reference to this sequel.
It must also be said that the tone - mixing very dark with the camp silliness of the TV series - doesn't quite work here. In particular, the March of the Penguins sequence is so ludicrous that it fritters away much of the liking I had for what had gone before.