Deliciously dark

Rating: 8/10 (27 August 2007)

This, in my opinion, was the best Batman movie yet made, because it achieved the right balance between realism and insanity. Batman Begins tried to find realistic explanations for the freakishness behind its heroes and villains. The world of a comic book hero should not be deconstructed so. Mystery and fantasy should be encouraged, because it makes things so much less predictable. It also allows the creative art director to go absolutely bonkers!!!
The Gotham City that Tim Burton creates, projects the world of the comic book onto the big screen with complete faithfulness. Floating somewhere between 40's Chicago and 90's New York, its mass of high rise structures provide a glittering backdrop to the predominantly night time scenes, in which silence is torn apart by flame juggling clowns and psychedelic carnival freaks, a mad business tycoon who wants to rule the city and a vengeful seductress in skintight black leather. All driven by a stellar cast who clearly love the saga and enjoy every line given to their characters. One thing that can be said about the cast is that the primary focus is completely stolen from Batman by the villains. However, the magic used by De Vito and Pfeifer to portray their characters Penguin and Catwoman is so damn alluring I can't see it as a bad thing.
The tone oscillates zestfully between child's play and adult fun; the conventional quips are loaded with slick wit and raunchy innuendo, and hearty laughs are followed by harsh violence. It's a roller-coaster, a guilty pleasure.
I might agree that Batman Returns is a little more icing than sponge, but when the icing tastes so good, who cares?