Batman Returns (1992)
Last Watch Date - February 21, 2026
Total Times Watched - Twice I would guess
Comments
Stylistically, this has some really fun choices. I read that Tim Burton didn't get full say over 89, but this one was all him. This makes sense to me. It feels like a Tim Burton movie maybe even more than it feels like a Batman movie. It has really fun visuals, interesting architecture, lots of light and shadow play, and I would say it's much better than 89 in terms of HOW it looks. I think 89 is really cool looking too, so that's no small feat.
Casting is just as good as 89 as well. Danny Devito plays such an odd Penguin character, but it really works. Christopher Walken looks like his character The Hessian from Sleepy Hollow, but acts like Christopher Walken. Michelle Pfeiffer is really close to Julie Newmar and Lee Meriwether in her Catwoman. Very different choices between them, but she's great. There's also a cameo by Mac's dad Luther from Always Sunny at one point!
Given how much I like these things, I must LOVE this movie. Things started to fall apart for me with how stupid the story is. Maybe that's a Batman thing (although I don't remember ever seeing this storyline for either the Penguin or Catwoman in comics...), but it's really quite stupid. It makes no sense. The Penguin wants to come up to .. find out who his parents are? How did he get his little sewer circus army? WHY did he get an army of circus people? And why do they all stay in the sewer? Why can't he come up to the city level? Where did he learn English and everything about Gotham? I could go on, but this makes the movie feel like it's kind of pointless. It feels like a visuals demo reel more than a movie, yet it clocks in at over 2 hours in runtime. That's TOO LONG for the story it tells.
I did like the circus people, by the way. I always like carnival- or circus-themed things. Kind of like a Juggalo who doesn't like ICP. That's not true, I do like some of the songs on the Great Milenko. Check out Southwest Voodoo and tell me it's not a good song!
Recommended?
If you're watching the Batman movies, sure! It's visually interesting and Michelle Pfeiffer is a looker.
