Ehhh it was OK

Rating: 5/10 (16 September 2004)

I find it hilarious that some people call this (and I'm not joking here) "a 10" and "the best movie ever made". Please. Now while that may not be the majority of people, it still seems pretty silly to me how one could think that. I guess if you really like Tim Burton you might say something like that, but he has made better movies. Anyway I digress.
I saw this on TV today for the first time in about 10 years and remembered how disappointed I was when it came out. I'll grant Burton an eye for the visuals, and would agree that his Batman movies have the best looking Gotham City and have the best Batman (Keaton). However, in this second installment things went a downhill for me. First of all Batman himself is given a back seat and instead we are forced to deal with Devito's Penguin. Once again the most gullible citizens ever are lead to believe that this clearly insane or at least odd and disturbing character would make a good mayor, kind of like they were tricked into believe The Joker was an "okay guy" in the first one. Also the needlessly dark touchs like the Penguins plan to kill all the first born sons of Gotham don't work for me. Also some of the stuff comes off as just tacky like the little penguins with rockets attached to their backs or the henchmen dressed up as clowns (didn't we already have a clown in the first one?). The ending is pretty anti-climactic as well and overall it isn't all that entertaining. I think that I actually got more enjoyment out of Batman Forever then I did out of this one (though I think this movie is technically better made).
In conclusion this movie isn't the worst movie ever, and has some good moments and an excellent visual style that really resonates the world of Batman. However, some stupid plot points and needlessly dark/bizarre elements keep me from really liking it. If you are a fan of Tim Burton's work you will probably find something you like here. Even a Batman fan can find some good stuff as well. But just because there were worse Batman (and comic book movies in general) made after this doesn't necessarily make this a good let alone great movie. If you really like Batman read the comics books.
Zoopansick