The Christopher Walken show...

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 2014)

BATMAN RETURNS has the distinction of featuring more memorable villains than any other comic book-based feature film. We have Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman (in a role that would've been better served by Sean Young, if you ask me) and Danny DeVito as the mutant Penguin- but it's Christopher Walken as Max Shreck who steals the show: his delivery is the reason. When he catches secretary Selina Kyle going through his files looking for evidence of corruption, he asks her: "And how exactly did you access confidential files..." And here his voice drops to a mere whisper as he concludes: "...May I ask...?" In a movie chock full of what were probably meant to be witty quips (there's very little real dialogue in the film, but that's okay, it's implied: this is only a "comic book movie"), Walken's handling of almost throwaway lines is masterful. Catwoman's costume is sexy, to be sure, and the Penguin is one of the most horrific creatures to ever waddle through a comic book cum movie, but it's Walken as Shreck who really stands out. (Oh, and Michael Keaton is still great as Batman.)