A Dark and Misunderstood Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2005)

Who in Hollywood is more misunderstood than Tim Burton? Well, no one. The Batman films over the years have been plagued by one and only one thing...no, not Joel Schumacher...they are called Studio Heads. But enough of that. The fact is, this movie was not advertised, nor made to be a fan friendly or even kid friendly movie. After the success of "Batman", a sequel was inevitable. In order to lure Burton back into directing, the "Powers that Be" told Burton that it could be an "all Burton film". This is very rare for a director to get in these money grabbing days. With all the politics and misunderstandings of the finished product aside, the film "Batman Returns" provides a dark, intense, and very exciting interpretation of "Batman" on screen. "Returns" shows us three characters, which all have dual identities. One is a creature of the night, stopping ruthless and petty criminals in every alley way and rooftop, and is also a tortured billionaire industrialist with the guilt of is parents death haunting him. There is also a purrr-fect enemy, draped in skin tight vinyl and carries a whip, with vengeance on the mind, and was once a push over secretary who was obviously pushed over one too many times. Finally there is the Penguin, a freakish and vile figure who was abandoned by his parents and now wishes for the respect that has avoided him all his life, and as Oswald Cobblepot, he gains the respect of the city in order to become its mayor. With these three characters, all you can get is an epic Tim Burton masterpiece, and that is what it became.
After discovering their first born as a freakishly deformed monster, the Cobblepots decide to rid themselves of this black sheep. Almost thirty years later, the lost Cobblepot son has become the Penguin man in the sewer, who has become just as much a myth in Gotham City as the legend of Big Foot. After the Tree lighting ceremony in Gotham only weeks before Christmas, all hell breaks loose. Within one night, the evil industrialist Max Schrek (Christopher Walken) is kidnapped by the Penguin (Danny DeVito), and blackmailed into helping him re-emerge into Gotham society to finally earn the respect that he so thirsts after. Following this, Shreck drops his nobody assistant, Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer), out of his department store window after she discovers his Power Plant operation is just a scheme to suck what's left of power out of the city. Little does Shreck know, this nobody assistant survived, and is going to turn the tables on him ten fold as Catwoman, donning the skin tight vinyl black outfit and cracking a dangerously long whip. As Shreck helps the Penguin become Gotham's new golden boy, Oswald Cobblepot, he also uses Oswald to challenge the Mayor (Michael Murphy) into a recall election. If this happens, Shrek's Power Plant is secured. Now it is up to Batman (Michael Keaton) to stop these three super-villains from carrying out there plans. It is just a question now to whether Bruce will be able to balance his love for Selina and his duty as Batman to bring her, Oswald, and Shreck to justice.
The movie's performances, special effects, costumes, amazing sets, and of course make-up design make this movie great. Michael Keaton returns (Forgive the pun) as the dark knight. Keaton gave us a dark complexity to the tortured soul of Bruce Wayne in Batman 1, and he carries that into this film, but in a much different way. His complexity in this film has more to do with his lack of a real life. In the first time we see him in the movie, he is sitting down in his study, doing absolutely nothing, until the Bat signal shines through his home, in which he then, through his eyes and body movement, comes to life. Through his attraction to Selina, he is naturally hoping for he and his equal to possibly have more of a "happy ending" to their story. Michelle Pfeiffer is actually, in my opinion, more unrecognizable than Danny DeVito. I say this only because in the beginning, we are introduced to this bumbling and oblivious secretary, and then she becomes a determined, sexy, and very aggressive creature of the night. Pfeiffer's brilliance in her dual roles, her body language, her change in voice, and overall sex appeal make this Catwoman probably the best ever seen projected from the comic book legend. The scene where Bruce and Selina are the only ones not wearing costumes at the costume ball, with the haunting song "Face to Face" echoing in the background, is truly brilliant. Now for Danny DeVito. This is probably my absolute favorite Danny DeVito performance. While his make-up says enough, its DeVito chewing through the make-up, the scenery, and most of the other actors to get his portrayal of the tortured, deformed, vile, and ingenious villain that is the Penguin, off. In many ways, he can make you feel sorry for him, and in other ways, he can make you loathe and detest his very existence. A true comic-book/movie villain through and through. Finally for the great Christopher Walken. Walken was cast as a character that does not appear in the Batman comic-book universe. He is described as a rich, handsome, but diabolical businessman, who will suck the life out of anything he touches (much like a vampire, in which the actor Max Schreck in real life portrayed the vampire in the famous film "Nosferatu"). Shreck in many ways is the personification of Gotham City, as he says "I' am the light of this city. And I' am its mean, twisted soul." Walken, in a sense, is more horrific than the Penguin. Shreck on the outside is a wealthy and respectable man, while on the inside, is more a horrific beast than the Penguin could ever be. An amazing and operatic Tim Burton masterpiece all the way though.
8/10