The Bat. The Cat. The Penguin. This tagline perfectly summed up Batman Returns.

Rating: 9/10 (18 July 2015)

Following the blockbusting success of Batman (1989), Michael Keaton returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Tim Burton returns to the director's chair in Batman Returns. This time there are two villains, The Penguin and Catwoman, that Batman must face off against. The film is noticeably darker compared to the first movie, and some parts were violent. Looking back now, its no wonder many parents were complaining that Batman Returns had scared and upset many young kids. Despite the fact Batman Returns was a box office success in 1992, it was a shame that Warner Bros asked Tim Burton to step aside from future directorial duties with the Batman franchise and in return Joel Schumacher took the family-friendly route with Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997) which did the franchise more harm that good. Michael Keaton also declined to return as Batman when Tim Burton did not return, with Val Kilmer and George Clooney respectively donning the Batman suit.
Michael Keaton returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne who as Batman must take on The Penguin and Catwoman who both have sinister motives to cause chaos in Gotham City. Also, Bruce Wayne must contend with shady businessman Max Shreck who has sinister motives to build a power plant to drain Gotham City of its energy as well as pushing The Penguin for Mayor. Besides Christian Bale, I have always liked Michael Keaton as Batman. He brings a very darkly comic side to his role as well as maintaining a heroic and dramatic edge.
Danny De Vito is totally unrecognisable in one of his best roles as The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot, who lives in the sewers after he is dumped into a river as a baby by his high society parents 33 years ago after the discover to their horror that he is deformed. Oswald Cobblepot is raised in the sewers by a flock of penguins thus he later adopts his alter ego as The Penguin. The Penguin hatches a plan to unleash chaos onto Gotham City with the Red Triangle Gang made up of circus members, but not before kidnapping Max Shreck and blackmailing him into helping him become an accepted citizen in Gotham City as well as Max Shreck pushing him as a mayoral candidate in order to win over the support and appeal of the citizens of Gotham City.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mousy secretary Selina Kyle who Max Shreck and other corporate bosses treat her with contempt. Selina Kyle uncovers Max Shreck's sinister motives for his power plant and is pushed out of a window, believed to be killed. Selina Kyle is revived by a flock of cats and later violently lashes out, destroying her apartment and transforming her new life and personality by donning a new costume, adopting her new alter ego as Catwoman. Selina Kyle's personality also has transformed from meek and mild to deranged and sexually charged.
Christopher Walken is the shady businessman Max Shreck who is seen as Gotham City's larger than life savior yet has sinister greedy motives to drain Gotham City of its power supply through his new power plant which will also see him rake in a lot of profit. Christopher Walken also bring an occasionally dark, deadpan and subtle humorous side to Max Shreck.
Tim Burton is a quality director and he continues to bring his dark, brooding vision to the Batman franchise with this welcome sequel to the 1989 blockbuster. The story is excellent, art direction and make up top notch. The standout is The Penguin's make up, transforming Danny De Vito into an unrecognisable villain. The main cast which includes Michael Keaton, Danny De Vito, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken were top notch.
Besides The Dark Knight trilogy, Batman Returns did have a reputation for being violent and dark for children, however The Dark Knight trilogy did not seem to receive any criticisms, with audiences accepting that it would not be suitable for young children. As a 8 year old, I was shocked that Batman Returns received a M 15+ rating in Australia, however upon seeing it on home video, I wasn't bothered by its dark tone at all.
After Batman Returns, the Batman franchise became family-friendly which may have seen the decline of the Batman franchise. To the relief of many Batman fans such as myself, Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale resurrected the Batman franchise with Batman Begins (2005).
Batman Returns is still a pleasure to watch, although nothing can surpass the first Batman movie. Though it may be dark for a Batman movie, I still enjoy watching Batman Returns.
9/10.