So much yummier

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2009)

Cast your mind back to the scorching summer of 1989. Remember what a huge deal Tim Burton's Batman was? Those restricted set-reports! That massive press campaign! That Prince soundtrack! 'Batmania' they called it.
However, this writer also remembers a conversation between two girls at a bus stop, slathered with that ubiquitous black and yellow poster, a week after it came out. "Saw that the other day." "Wossit like?" "Bit boring." History hasn't been particularly kind to Batman (less so to Prince's score. Wither 'Lemon Crush'?) Nevertheless, it did generate $750 million worth of merchandise which meant sequel time.
Burton hadn't originally signed up for a follow-up (ah, such innocent times), describing such a prospect as "a dumbfounded idea" and even admitting the original was, yes, "a little boring at times". Any subsequent film would have to be treated like "another Batman movie altogether".
And so it was: without stinting on the pathos (Danny DeVito's Penguin) or sex appeal (Michelle Pfeiffer's astoundingly horny bad girl Catwoman), Burton would give full vent to his German Expressionist tendencies (see Christopher Walken's second-tier baddie Max Shrek) and cartoonish indulgences. This was more like it! Pre-Batman Begins, Batman Returns is the best Batman film in the canon. No Prince, either.