Welcome back to Tim Burton's freak-show

Rating: 9/10 (13 October 2005)

More than its predecessor, this movie really belongs to its director.Just read the plot summary: a disfigured child turns into the revolting Penguin(Danny De Vito), who plans revenge on Gotham City with evil businessman Max Schreck(Christopher Walken).They'll have to face two problems: Batman(Michael Keaton),the city's vigilante who spends his nights tracking down and arresting criminals, and Selina Kyle(Michelle Pfeiffer), Schreck's ex-secretary, back from the dead as the fascinating yet deadly Catwoman.It contains all of Burton's favorite stuff:extreme outcasts feared by ordinary people, a dark and Gothic landscape covered with snow(Gotham City at Christmas is visually delighting) and references to old horror movies(Christopher Walken played the lead in a seminal horror flick, as did the actor his character is named after).
As in the previous film, it's more about Batman's opponents than the Caped Crusader himself.It's got little to do with Bob Kane's characters and all to do with Burton's creepy, twisted imagination.
It's a film noir with a weird romance and even weirder heroes and villains.
Just don't get fooled by the foreboding climax: the two subsequent flicks have nothing in common with this one, except the titular guy, not to mention that they're really awful.
Anyway, this is a perfect introduction, alongside Edward Scissorhands, to Burton's genius, in case you haven't seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet.