Batman did return, but after this film Burton didn't.

Rating: 6/10 (27 October 2012)

This Batman film at the time of its release was thought of as a bit of a disappointment. Sure it did quite well at the box office, but really did not compare to the first one. The reviews were lukewarm at best, quite incendiary at their worst. I believe it had multiple razzie nominations and I do believe Danny DeVito actually won for worst performance. However, over the years for reasons unknown to me it has gained a following, now it is often said to be the best of the original four films. At one point it had a 6.2 score on IMDb, but now sports a 7.0. What changed? I have no clue as to me it is not the disappointment it was then, but I still thought the first film was better. Burton went darker with this one, at the same time in areas he went lighter. This one is a sequel, yet other than a throw away line about Viki Vale and a few of the same actors this film almost feels like a totally different film in some regards. Still, it is my second favorite film of the original four films, though it is a set of sequels that change up the formula so often that you hardly can tell they are connected when you compare Batman and Robin to the first film.
The story has a strange circus gang on the attack, things get a bit out of hand and Commissioner Gordon calls on Batman. Did not take him all that long to become over reliant on the Bat now did it? Well during the chaos a strange person dubbed the Penguin makes his way out of sewer, part of his plan that is not really a Penguin plan of the comics. Meanwhile, Selina Kyle is having boss troubles to the point of being pushed out of windows and resurrected as Catwoman! The boss, Max Shreck, decides to use the Penguin for his own needs and makes a bold push to make this strange man into the mayor. Catwoman and the Penguin soon team up as the Bat keeps interfering with each and plan a caper to frame the Dark Knight.
There is a lot going on in this film, and that is a bit of a problem. Penguin's and Catwoman's team up seems rushed, there are parts of the film that seem important that are never discussed again and the best villain is not even one of the two super villains, but rather Christopher Walken's Max Schreck character. Still, Burton has a way of making the very bulky bat suit not look like something that is going to restrict someone's movement to the point it is nonfunctional. The next two films it looks like the heroes can barely move! The suit on display in this film is also the best looking one of the original four ditching the molded muscles of the previous film and the strange tail on the bat insignia. The bat mobile still looks awesome, it doesn't for the next two movies and Catwoman's costume is hot...though I prefer the Lee Merriweather look in the 60's version as Michelle is too pale for my tastes.
As for the villains, neither is really a lot like their comic book counterpart. However, Burton should not be restricted by a comic book nor any other director. Seriously, do people really want every comic book movie to start at issue 1? Granted, both get a very strange treatment as Catwoman gains her power from random cats, I would prefer she be just a cat burglar and Penguin's origin shown at the beginning would be great, if the villain was Killer Croc. He is also a bit to disgusting looking. I just do not see people rallying behind him as people are shallow and while they may not burn him at the stake, they are not going to fall in love with him as they do in this film. Michael Keaton is still good as Batman, I prefer Bale a bit over Keaton, but Keaton is miles ahead of the other two guys. I just think Bale did Bruce better while Keaton was actually better as Batman. With them it is close, not so much for Kilmer and Clooney.
So I still do not see why people act as if this film is the best in the series including the Nolan films, however, I respect their opinion. One even gave me a list and while I did not agree it allowed me to understand a bit why they felt it was superior. To me, it was an okay film and a disappointing sequel. I just thought areas of it were to strange, some too lighthearted and it just did not continue the first film well enough (Billy Dee Williams...where are you?). It still had a lot of fun moments and it had a lot more Batman in it than the first film and probably the next two. Add a awesome action scene to the end and I would give it an 8, but the anticlimactic ending we got is one of the main reasons I did not like this film as much as the first and only give it a score of six. I still remember the disappointment I felt as a kid as the ending played out.