An underrated holiday classic

Rating: 8/10 (1 October 2018)

Batman Returns is an underrated classic. Yes, it has its problems but for the most part it's a very entertaining film and a great follow-up to Batman (1989). Michael Keaton is still great as Batman the best in my opinion. He's intimidating yet not overly trying to be intimidating like Christian Bale. He also has a very charismatic performance as Bruce Wayne. He's suave yet cold from his tragic past. Danny Devito is terrifying as the penguin. His performance is uneasy to watch but in a good way. The penguins back story is very tragic and heartbreaking which adds great layers to his character and makes the audience feel a lot of sympathy for him. Michelle Pfeiffer is great as Catwoman. She really goes all in on the performance as someone whose gone crazy and is looking for revenge against the world. Her performance is probably my favorite in the whole film. You feel her pain of being lonely her whole life and her nearly dying has awoken this new woman to take on the world. Christopher Walken is great playing the maniacal businessman Max Shrek. You can tell he is having fun with his over the top performance. My favorite thing about this movie is the production design. Bo Welch created a very gothic and elaborate setting for the film. Everything from the buildings to the just the way people dress is just gothic and very old detective comic like. The zoo is my favorite set. I just love the giant polar bear in artic world. There's a giant crab. There's a duck car ride that looks like a ski lift. It just looks cool and thematic. The costumes are all great. The Penguin looks terrifying and is just unsettling to look at in a good way. Catwoman's suit is very accurate to the comics and fits the tone of the film. Max Shrek's outfits are all over top business suits that really look silly but in a way that works for his character and the tone of the film. The film is very comic book like. The set are straight from comic book drawings. The plot is very over the top and unrealistic, but it works but it sets up the universe in a way that just allows those things. The film is unapologetically an over the top Tim Burton comic book movie and that's why I love it.