The Penguin for Governor of California!!! (SPOILERS)

Rating: Null/10 (20 August 2003)

Yes, the Penguin has entered the gubernatorial race in California, joining a field of over 100 candidates - when asked why he threw his hat into the ring, he said something about not wanting Mr. Freeze to win...

Seriously, it's hard to believe that two recent news stories in America - a political recall and power problems - served as plot points in a Batman movie. But that's exactly what happened 11 years ago in "Batman Returns," the second of the Dark Knight's big-screen adventures.
Many people forget that the REAL villain of this movie is not the Penguin or Catwoman, but business tycoon Max Shreck (Christopher Walken). He not only causes the creation of Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer), but intends to build a power plant that would drain Gotham City of its energy supply. The film doesn't mention it, but this would probably cause rolling blackouts, similar to the outages that occurred in the Northeast and Canada on August 14, 2003. The Gray Davis-lookalike mayor (Michael Murphy) is staunchly opposed to the project, so Shreck orchestrates a recall, nominating the Penguin (Danny DeVito) as a mayoral candidate and using the Penguin's gang to create urban chaos. As if that weren't enough, Bruce Wayne, Alfred, Selina Kyle, Chip Shreck, Commissioner Gordon, the Organ Grinder, the Fat Clown, and the Ice Princess announce THEY'RE running for mayor of Gotham City. What a mess this recall is. :)
Wanna bet this is where Arnie got the idea to be a political candidate? He and DeVito are buddies and Batman villain alumni. I can just see DeVito calling him up, reminding him of the recall in this movie. But I digress.

Back to the movie: unfortunately, the screenplay doesn't do enough with Shreck's quest for power (both literal and figurative). Here's a plot hole: why did Shreck think the Penguin, as mayor, would let him build his power plant? After all, the Penguin extorted help from Shreck with knowledge of his corrupt businesses. So Shrek KNEW the Penguin was onto him. Moreover, there was never any connection established between the Penguin and the power plant. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, because this subplot is pushed aside in favor of more screen time for Catwoman, memorably played by Pfeiffer.

In spite of the cluttered storyline, "Batman Returns" has good action scenes, clever dialogue, rich performances, and nifty production design. At the very least, it gets credit for depicting political and electrical power as strange bedfellows.