Batman Returns
1992
D: Tim Burton
**********
Pros: Visual Style, Music, Acting, Some Great Characters,
Witty Dialogue
Cons: The Penguin, Batman’s Killing Moments
What better
movie to review this Christmas season than Batman
Returns? I was once harsher on this movie for its departures from the source material, but recently I've given it more credit for its strengths. It begins with the wealthy Tucker Cobblepot (Paul Reubens) and his wife Esther
(Diane Salinger) delivering a deformed infant, Oswald/The Penguin. They decide to dump their baby into the
Gotham sewer system and leave it for dead, a very dark way to start a film
(unless you’re in the Singer household, then it’s just good, wholesome Holiday
spirit!) 33 years later during Christmastime,
millionaire businessman Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) is pestering Gotham’s
put-upon mayor (Michael Murphy) into approving a new power plant while acting
patronizing toward his even more put-upon secretary Selina Kyle (Michelle
Pfieffer). Shreck and his guests leave
Kyle in embarrassment to deliver a public speech, which is interrupted by an
attack by the Red Circle Gang. The group
includes an Organ Grinder (Vincent Schiavelli), a Poodle Lady (Anna Katarina),
a strongman (Rick Zumwalt) and Doug Jones.
Most of the members seem to be reflections of Burton’s apparent
coulrophobia. Luckily, Batman (Michael
Keaton) is contacted by the otherwise ineffectual Commissioner Gordon (Pat
Hingle) and stops the madness, but Shreck has gone missing in the confusion.
Shreck
awakens to find himself in a sewer surrounded by gang members and The Penguin
(Danny DeVito), who successfully blackmails him into striking a deal. Schreck agrees to engineer a scenario which
introduces the Penguin to Gotham as a hero.
After being allowed to leave, he visits his office, where he finds
Selina rifling through it in preparation for an upcoming meeting with Bruce
Wayne. For some reason, she has accessed
his secret files and has found out that the planned power plant is a
fraud. In one of the most well-timed
double fake-outs I’ve seen in a movie, he shoves her out of a window to her
supposed death.
Granted, you know you're done when Christopher Walken is approaching you with this expression. |
Selina
survives, her fall partially broken by a series of canopies. You’d think Shreck would notice this and take
appropriate action, but this movie doesn’t sweat the logistics. She is approached by a group of cats, who
lick some of the blood off of her supine body.
The scene has an air of mysticism to it, and Selina’s drying blood and
convulsions add to sense of discomfort.
It’s a well-shot and effective scene.
After arriving at her apartment in a daze, the full impact of the event
hits her and she trashes it. This is
actually one of the best room trashings I’ve ever seen in a movie. Kyle furiously destroys every symbol of
feminine innocence in her home while her effectively poignant leitmotif plays. The emotionality of this scene
was so well done that it wasn’t lost on me even when I was a small child and
did not fully understand its significance.
She cannibalizes a vinyl coat to make her distinctively dark
costume. Catwoman is born.
Catwoman is not nearly as careful about her secret identity as Batman is. |
Catwoman is a
rather good villainess. I’ve noticed
that the Tim Burton Batmans are
better than the Nolan ones when it comes to female characters with independent
story arcs. Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman has
her moments, but she mostly seems to be there as a foil for Batman or as a
strawman who sees the light. We relate
to Selina from the beginning of the movie and we see her suffer to the point
where she snaps and becomes the famous anti-villain. Despite her self-avowed confidence, she’s
still filled with self-doubt and insecurity.
This is much like how our own coping actions often fall short of
providing their intended solace. Her
actions are highly questionable, reflecting how many people motivated by a
sense of victimhood may not always be in the right, even if their victimhood is
very real. The feminist angle is sullied
a bit by the fact that Pfeiffer’s costume was so tight she literally couldn’t
breathe in it. I’m also wondering where
all her gymnastics came from, aside from one passing line suggesting that she’s
pretty good at racquetball. Overall, Pfeiffer
is excellent in this role and she gives a very complex performance. Her sultry voice as Catwoman is arguably
overdone, but justified in-universe for the same reason as Christian Bale’s
Batman voice is.
Shreck is
also a memorable villain. Christopher
Walken is very creepy in this role, and his charisma is enhanced with snappy
dialogue and snazzy coiffure. I think
the reason why the character hasn’t been embraced in the comic continuity is
because the appeal was so dependent on Walken’s performance. Shreck seems to have the air of a nouveau-riche judging from his contempt
for “blue bloods” and the occasional malapropism. He’s had to gain his wealth himself and he
will resort to any sort of skullduggery to keep it for himself and his son Chip
(Andrew Bryniarski). While Chip may seem
like a spoiled trust fund kid at first glance, he keeps gangsters at bay to
protect his father at one point. He’s
also privy to Max’s attempted murder of Selina, and I can think of few
pragmatic reasons to share such information.
Max seems to care for his family, and he may have loved his late wife,
stating that she’s the only person who ever surprised him. Still, he’s mostly a corrupt businessman,
complete with the 90’s style environmentalist jabs at his pollution. I begrudgingly point out how refreshingly smart Batman & Robin, of all
movies, was on this subject.
The
development of Bruce Wayne/Batman is also very enjoyable. Michael Keaton continues to play the role
with a lovable awkwardness that suggests that Batman is uncomfortable in the
guise of Bruce Wayne. He even
occasionally forgets that he’s not supposed to be Batman a couple times. Most notable is when he begins to correctly
deduce that The Penguin is leading the Red Circle Gang. He makes a total asshole out of himself by
openly accusing him in front of Shreck as Wayne.
That's proof enough for Tumblr, though. |
While Batman may be the character’s true identity, this
version of that identity still has its lovable and quirky charm. I for one definitely prefer him over Christian Bale. My one problem with
Batman in this movie is that he needlessly kills two thugs. Violation of the character’s strict no-kill
policy was forgivable in the first movie when he had to kill an escaping Joker
(which he should have done in that
one scene in Dark Knight), but here
it seemed unnecessary and out-of-character.
Batman has great chemistry with Catwoman, and the relationship is
executed with humor and even has the occasional poetic feel. They are two dark souls produced by tragedy
who have found themselves by lucky coincidence.
Even when they first meet, when Batman is in costume and Selina has yet
to become Catwoman, there is a vague connection. When they first meet formally as Bruce and Selina
(post transformation), that connection is now substantial. The movie effectively shows a force of
destiny in this relationship. Still it's somewhat out-of-character for the master thief from the comics to be turned into a frustrated feminist for whom robbery is a small part of lashing out.
Less enjoyable
is The Penguin, who is currently being groomed by Shreck into being a puppet
mayor. While I like the design, I really
disagree with the characterization. The
Penguin is supposed to be a patrician (which might have made for some good
chemistry with Shreck, by the way), not a savage man-animal raised by zoo penguins
that were left there for no reason when the zoo closed (this movie does not
sweat the logistics). He is also confused about his status as a human. I
think this movie had Oswald Cobblepot confused with another Batman villain. His deformity was a good idea, but it would
have worked better if he had been raised by elitists whose disapproval formed
his motivations. Instead we have a
horndog running around in a onesie. It’s too bad, because the character design is
great when he’s in full dress. In those
precious few moments, he looks like a Gothic interpretation of what the
character should look like. While most
of the dialogue in this movie is very witty, The Penguin’s lines are almost
consistently painful. I realize that
being raised in a sewer by penguins is not conducive to dry wit, but must every
other line from Oswald’s mouth be a horny furry comment? Still the character works on his own merits, and he makes the movie more of a Christmas movie than Die Hard by presenting a character who is a sort of Anti-Baby Christ.
The wake of the 2017 Sexual Harassment scandals have made me realize a prescient aspect of the relationship between The Penguin and Catwoman. Catwoman has thrown in with an obviously predatory man because her radical feminism dedicates her to a questionable agenda she thinks he'll deliver one. Unsurprisingly The Penguin betrays her when she doesn't put out enough for him.
The wake of the 2017 Sexual Harassment scandals have made me realize a prescient aspect of the relationship between The Penguin and Catwoman. Catwoman has thrown in with an obviously predatory man because her radical feminism dedicates her to a questionable agenda she thinks he'll deliver one. Unsurprisingly The Penguin betrays her when she doesn't put out enough for him.
While we are
supposed to empathize with the character’s tragic backstory and vulnerability,
he is simply too evil to be truly sympathetic on any level. This is odd because in the comics he’s one of
the more restrained villains. His need
to be loved and accepted is less understandable when his primary motivation for
accepting Shreck’s proposal for him to run for office is “unlimited
poontang.” His mayoral sex drive is the
only thing distracting him from his ultimate goal of kidnapping Gotham’s
firstborn infants and murdering them.
See, he was victimized as an infant, so he’s getting revenge
by…victimizing other infants. Not the
most logical motivation for a villain out there. I will note that after Batman overcomes the
Batmobile’s sabotage (which was not the Penguin’s idea, mind you), he thwarts
all of the villain’s plans with next to no effort. Danny DeVito does a great job in the role
that was written for him, but I simply can’t picture him playing the Penguin
in-character.
After the
Penguin and Catwoman, who has been embarrassed by a lost fight with Batman,
plan to frame the Caped Crusader for the murder of the Ice Princess (Cristi
Conaway), she rejects a sexual advance from him. He angrily calls her a tease like any jackass
who uses that term and unsuccessfully attempts to murder her. Batman promptly clears his own name while
outing The Penguin as a fraud, forcing the latter to flee back to the sewer and
revisit his infanticidal Plan A, as well as kidnapping Shreck. Batman very easily and instantly stops the
plan, which had been built up as a major threat throughout the entire
movie. Batman is a very efficient
hero. What follows is the most
ridiculous scene in the entire movie.
The Penguin arms his army of penguins with missiles and sends them forth
to annihilate Gotham, but not before giving them a peptalk. Anyone who acts like the Bat Credit Card is
the worst thing to happen in the series has not seen Danny DeVito's giving a motivational speech, complete with snare drums in the score, to an army of penguins while literally dressed like a baby.
Batman once again foils the Penguin’s plan by
redirecting the attack to his evil lair.
Shreck figures out how to escape from his cage by tricking the monkey
who has been entrusted with the keys for some reason. The look of utter shock and surprise on the
monkey’s face when the keys are snatched from his hand is priceless.
This is anyone's reaction to being confronted by Christopher Walken. |
Unfortunately for him, Catwoman shows up to exact her
revenge. Batman pleads with her to spare
Shreck’s life while pulling off his mask, which appears to be made out of some
sort of licorice candy (make your own vore joke). Ignoring him, Catwoman kills Shreck and
disappears. A dying Penguin emerges
trying to kill our hero, but collapses before he could. In a truly absurd scene, his body is
reverently carried out to Burial at Sewer by penguins while an inappropriately heartbreaking music plays. The villain's last words are a refreshing aversion of meaningful dying dialogue.
All while Michael Keaton looks on in bafflement. |
Batman Returns is not perfect, but there is so much I
love about this movie, particularly the writing. The dialogue is snappy and organic, and there
are far too many good lines in this movie to list below. Alfred is particularly deadpan in his wit, a
trait faithfully lifted from the comic. The characters talk like real people, and they’re
not giving rehearsed speeches most of the time.
Characterization is shown through action rather than explained through
exposition. If you watch the first
scene, you might notice the rubber ducky outside the Penguins baby cage, which
explains his amphibious duck vehicle.
While I love the Nolan films, the Burton movies have this advantage. I’ve heard complaints that this movie is “confusing”
for not explaining enough and not adhering to formulas, but this only helps my
appreciation of the movie’s strengths.
Recently, I've been more charitable toward the movie's creative license. After all, I've been more forgiving when other inaccurate adaptations, such as V for Vendetta and Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) have succeeded in their own right. Even the first Batman got the Joker's backstory fundamentally wron.g I think my double standard in regards to Batman stems from nostalgia. Batman: The Animated Series struck a rare balance of creativity and faithfulness to the point where many people my age were well-versed in the franchise's lore from childhood.
The movie’s
visual style is excellent. Burton, with
the help of production designer Bo Welch, produced a Gotham City even more
beautifully stylized than that of the first movie. Batman Returns surpasses many genuine
Christmas movies in yuletide atmosphere.
The late, great Stan Winston also deserves credit for the Penguin’s
makeup. The movie’s beauty makes me
nostalgic for the days of practical effects. Unfortunately the difficulty some of this movie's sets presented probably helped motivated Burton to turn to generic CGI.
Danny Elfman really pulls it out for the movie’s score. In addition to the classic Batman theme, he
adds excellent leitmotifs for the movie’s villains that capture the tragedy of
their situations. I’m coming to the
conclusion that the quality of a male Batman
movie villain is inversely proportional to the quality of his leitmotif. Elfman also adds a caroling element to the
score to complement the Christmas feel, though he recycled this trick from his work for Scrooged.
Batman Returns is highly recommended for
holiday viewing for its yuletide atmosphere.
A beautifully dark fairy tale about two broken people connecting in a
world gone wrong was partially sullied by a horny buffoon in a baby suit. But even then that wouldn't have been truly a flaw if the movie wasn't an adaptation.
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