Batman Returns

Starring Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Walken
Directed by Tim Burton

In the grip of two criminal masterminds, the Penguin and Catwoman, Gotham City turns to Batman to set the city back on track. Industrialist Max Shreck adds fuel to the fire by trying to overthrow the city's mayor and get the Penguin elected as the new mayor. All this adds up to a heap of trouble for Batman when he's framed for the kidnapping and murder of a lovely model. Batman has his work cut out for him, as always - and as always, he's up to the challenge.

Oh gods of Batman, please do not strike down my beloved wife for only giving your second movie (well, third movie if you count the amazing prequel that you recently gave us) only half of a star.

Batman returns rivals the first movie, though it does not over take it, as one of the best Batman iterations yet. The casting was brilliant. The direction and art of the movie are some of Tim Burton's best work. And, to top it all off, IT'S BATMAN!

If you ever watched the old Batman TV shows like I did, this rendition of Batman may have thrown you for a giant, disturbing loop. He's creepy. He's rotund. He's got black, bloody drool.

I don't know what Amanda's talking about. I dislike Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito and Christopher Walken all the time. Really, this and What Lies Beneath (and sort of The Story of Us), are the only movies that I've liked Michelle Pfeiffer in, and Batman Returns is definitely my favorite of the three. She does a much better job than Halle Berry for what it's worth.

He's the ultimate reason to believe my review over Amanda's review. Her favorite Batman movie is Batman Forever, the one with Chris O'Donnell, Jim Carry and a zillion black lights. I'll say this - if your favorite director is Joel Schumacher, then this movie may not be your favorite, but you won't give it only half a star.

The only challenge in this movie for me was sitting through the whole thing. I feel like this was a low point in the Batman franchise, which puts me solidly in the minority. (Even more so when I say that Batman Forever is my favorite of the older films.)

How often do you get to dislike Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito and Christopher Walken in the span of an hour? Not very often, right? But then, how often do you wish that the hero of the movie would blow the city to smithereens just to get the movie over with?

I don't know why this film seems so awful to me. I really don't. It's definitely got all the characteristics I generally enjoy in a comic book movie - smarmy villains, cheesy one-liners, and half a dozen inside jokes that make you feel like you're glad you saw the earlier movie or read the source material. But all those things seem somehow overwhelmed by a general pointlessness that I can't ignore. I don't know the story of Catwoman and I haven't seen the Halle Berry version, but her character is unnecessary to the point of ridiculousness. She adds nothing to the story save a rabbit trail for Batman to go down, and distracts from the equally absurd - but much more enjoyable - Penguin.

I would say that there were only two very enjoyable moments - Penguin's takeover of the Batmobile, and both Bruce Wayne and Serena Kyle giving excuses to Alfred to tell each other. Both had a genuine humor and warmth that the rest of the movie lacked in spades.