A fave

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2002)

First let me start off by saying that without a doubt anyone who does not like this movie must be a. a ten year old,b. a comic book geek, or c. a person of a similar mindset. Sorry kids, this movie is not 100% silly cornball, comic book hokum, the heroes are all too recognizably human ( as opposed to bland specimens of almost God-like perfection that will fill your head with warm memories of the crudely drawn crap you used to watch a billion saturday mornings ago ), and so are the villains. As much as I enjoyed Spiderman ( I'm a big fan of the comics), I have no problems admitting it was typical, by the numbers Hollywood product that while extremely enjoyable on a puerile level,it doesn't engage on any other(beer guzzling, lets shoot the sh*t over pool fellas just outta college who-you know- just EAT up this crap will inevitably ask "Well, f**k, what else do you want from a movie?" Such people truly are holdovers from the Ice Age, and merit no attention). This movie's strength lies in its sharply drawn characters as opposed to its special effects which is why it will outlive such inoffensive, whiz bang offerings. Take the Supermans: by now, they are quite dated, as is the first Batman movie, and as Spiderman will unquestionably be in a few years, but this movie is as fresh now as it was in '92. Unfortunately, Batman Returns was a happy accident that will never occur again in the history of Superhero films. Warner's ( inadvertently of course) made a smart decision in handing over total creative control to established money maker Burton(a genuine artist with a definite vision; notice the refreshing lack of blatant product placement, or say, stupid flavor of the month pop soundtrack tie ins calculated to make teenyboppers go gaga in perfect, herd-like unison as we all know they do). The result is a wonderful family film that contains S and M images, coarse sexual innuedo, and sizable dollops of bloody onscreen violence that will no doubt scar younger viewers. It's an over the top subversion of the genre, that knows its taking a dump on the notion of Superhero films as school field trip fodder. and is completely unrepentant. Which why its so f******g great. None of it would work of course, if the acting was on the same low level as other comic book films, but thankfully the cast-much to the chagrin of the unwashed masses- chooses infuse their roles with depth. Michelle Phieffer in particular is a stand out as the tormented Selina, and her sexilicious alter ego the Catwoman. Keaton as Bruce Wayne is a revelation. Their scene together at Shrecks party is by far, the best scene in any superhero movie. A 10/10!