Batman Returns

By: Nils Toledo 1.10.2009

The Movie Itself:
1992’s “Batman Returns” is director Tim Burtons follow up to his 1989 hit “Batman”. “Returns” follows the Caped Crusader has he has to combat a plethora of villains in the form of the Penguin, Catwoman, and the corrupt businessman Max Shreck.

“Batman Returns” stars Michael Keaton, who reprises his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Danny Devito as the Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, and Christopher Walken, as Max Shreck. The entire cast is great in the movie, and the main roles are perfectly cast. It is my firm belief that Danny Devito was born to be the Penguin; he really submerges himself in the role, fully becoming the villainous Penguin.

Now on to what I think of the movie. The movie is a great follow-up to the first one, but I still prefer the first one. I am a bit bias though, as the Joker has always been one of my favorite Batman Villains. The Penguin character never really interested me, I have always thought of him to a more comical character. Burton even says in the commentary that he never really liked the Penguin, but Burton decided to use the Penguin, and totally recreate the character with a new and dark back story. While I did find some aspects of the character in the movie interesting, by the end, I just found him to be a bit over the top, with the Penguin army.

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, is probably my favorite character in the movie. It is developed well, and Michelle played the part extremely well, giving the character the duality, for the audience to question, “Is Catwoman good or bad?” She brings a tragedy to the character, where you can’t help but feel bad for Selina Kyle, who is treated like trash, by her boss, Max Shreck, who Christopher Walken, plays extremely well, really making you hate the character. Once she becomes Catwoman though, she is able to show an aggressive side, while still remaining her sexy self.

I like the fact that they put a little more Bruce Wayne into the movie, giving Keaton a bit more room to work with and really show what he can do. There was more emphasis on the villains than on Batman in this one, but I don’t really mind it, especially after hearing Tim Burton’s reasoning for doing that, which was because he believes Batman/Bruce Wayne, would be a kind of private individual, which made sense to me.

In the end, my only real problem with the movie was the warrior penguins, but I don’t consider the movie to be bad, just that one scene really bothers me. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Batman or Burton, especially the Burton fans, because “Returns” is more of a “Burton” movie using the Batman characters, if that makes sense.
Rating: 8/10

The Presentation:
"Batman Returns" comes to Blu-ray in full 1080p resolution, framed at 1.85:1, using the VC-1 codec. "Returns" features a better look then "Batman", it is sharper, and contains a much more detail than the DVD counterpart. Since this is such a dark movie, if the blacks aren't up to snuff, it could have ended up looking horrible, but the Blacks remain strong and have that beautiful inky appearance, especially with Catwoman's suit, it looks gorgeous, such a deep black, inky look. While on the subject of Catwoman, some of the best looking scenes in the movie involve her, like I said before the color of her suit looks good, mixed with her bright red lipstick, and all the little stiches in the suit looking extremely clear and sharp, makes for some awesome eye candy. There are no visible defects, no DNR or EE that I noticed, Overall this is an excellent transfer.

I enjoyed the audio on "Returns" much more than I did on "Batman". From the crack of Catwoman's whip, to the explosions, and the Batmobile, the film sounds excellent, and much clearer than the dolby digital track. The dialogue is also nice and clear, and and Danny Elfman's soundtrack again really shines here, as it did in the first.
Rating: 9/10

The Extras:
Like "Batman", "Batman Returns" come with lots of extras, though not as many as "Batman".

Extras include:
A Commentary by Director Tim Burton- This commentary has been withheld on previous home video releases in some markets, I have no idea why, but I am glad it was included here. The commentary is well worth the listen, has Tim Burton talks for mostly the whole thing, taking breaks throughout the feature, but never for more than maybe a minute. Lots of interesting stuff is said here, like the fact that the penguin opening scene in which the baby Penguin is going down the sewer river, with Burton saying that was inspired by the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. He also talks about what it was like on set, with Danny Devito being in character most of the time, and how amazed he was with the scene where Catwoman put the bird in her mouth, saying Michelle did that for real, no stunt work, or digital effects or anything of that nature.

The Bat, The Cat, and The Penguin: Making of Featurette- This looks like it was made for TV, it runs a little over 20 minutes, and talks about the three main characters, not the most interesting feature.

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga Part 4-Dark Side of the Batman- Again this is probably my favorite feature, it runs a little over 30 minutes, and includes lots of behind the scenes stuff, talking about how Burton initally had no interest in making a sequel, and talks about how the original screenplay by Sam Hamm was for the most part scrapped. Also they tell a funny story about the casting for Catwoman, where actress Sean Young showed up at the studios dressed up as Catwoman, because she really wanted the part.

Beyond Batman
Gotham City Revisited: Production Design of Batman Returns
Sleek, Sexy and Sinister: The Costumes of Batman Returns
Making up the Penguin
Assembling the Artic Army
Bats, Mattes, and Dark Knights: The Visual Effects of Batman
Inside the Elfman Studio

All of these featurettes are well worth the watch, in total running over 65 minutes, and cover nearly all aspects of the film, from the visual design of the movie,the costumes, dealing with the penguins on set, and the music of the movie.

Next up we have the character profiles for the heroes and villains of the movie, like with the first film, this is basically just the actors talking up the characters, they are five in total about 18 minutes, they are good for a watch, but no new or extremely exciting info is found here.

The extras are rounded out with a theatrical trailer, and a "Siouxsie and the Banshees" music video.
Rating: 8/10

Overall:
"Batman Returns" is a solid sequel, that had a few things that bothered me, mainly the penguin army, but is overall a fun, enjoyable movie, that I find myself revisiting fairly often. Warner really made a homerun with this, offering a excellent Video and Audio presentation, with a nice amount of extras. This is well worth the price to import it, it can be had on Amazon's UK site for a little over $20 shipped, it is a hot seller though, as it keeps going in and out of stock, so keep your eyes out for it.

Also just a quick note, this is the uncut version, the movie had a few scenes cut in previous iterations, mainly in the uk, but it is presented here in the full uncut form.
Rating: 8/10