BATMAN RETURNS (1992) REVIEW!!!

Initial release date: June 19, 1992

Studio: Warner Bros.

Plot: In the second of the blockbuster Batman films, the legendary hero does battle against the mysterious Cat Woman and the diabolical Penguin. Gotham City faces two monstrous criminal menaces: the bizarre, sinister Penguin (Danny DeVito) and the slinky, mysterious Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Can Batman (Michael Keaton) battle two formidable foes at once? Especially when one (Penguin) wants to be mayor and the other is romantically attracted to Bruce Wayne (Catwoman)?

Cast

Michael Keaton - Bruce Wayne/Batman

Danny DeVito - Penguin

Michelle Pfeiffer - Catwoman/Selina

Christopher Walken - Max Shreck

Michael Gough - Alfred

Andrew Bryniarski - Chip

Pat Hingle - Commissioner Gordon

Writer: Daniel Walters (Vampire Academy; Heathers; Demolition Man)

Director: Tim Burton

Rated PG-13 for brooding, dark violence (126 min)

Tim Burton’s 1989 movie ‘Batman’ was dark, yet fairly entertaining with a few bits of dark humor. Now, time to move on to 1992 with ‘Batman Returns.’ The first sequel definitely turned the darkness up a bit and there were even some people who deemed it too dark when the movie first was released.

Despite it being a little darker than the first movie, ‘Batman Returns’ does have some great performances and a few twisted moments (again, remember it’s Tim Burton). Adding a touch of gothic flair, I think, helped with the feel of the sequel.

DeVito and Pfeiffer gave memorable performances as the villains, Penguin and Catwoman. There are also a few parts that can also be on the weird side. But, nonetheless, ‘Batman Returns’ can be rather entertaining, even though it’s darker.

You can check out ‘Batman Returns’ on HBO Max before it leaves the streaming platform, along with ‘Batman,’ ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘Batman & Robin,’ at the end of the month.

Here are a few interesting tidbits for ‘Batman Returns’:

• Burgess Meredith, who played the Penguin on the series and the 1966 movie, was asked to play the Penguin’s father in the film’s opening, but illness prevented him from it.

• At least 50& of the Warner Brothers lot was taken up with Gotham City sets.

• Neither Burton or Keaton had been signed up in advance for a sequel. Burton came on-board only after the script met all of his demands (he hadn’t been entirely happy with the first movie’s script), while Keaton only agreed to do the second film after a serious hike in salary, and Burton’s assurance that it would be mostly a stand-alone movie rather than a direct sequel.

• It made $47.7 million in its first three days, a record at the time.

• Rowan Atkinson was considered for the role of the Penguin; Sigourney Weaver was considered for Catwoman.

• The final shot of the film, in which Catwoman is seen looking at the bat signal, was added as an afterthought, literally a few weeks before the film opened. The shot had to be filmed on a weekend, less than a day after conception, and with a double for Pfeiffer. That single shot cost $250,000.

• In one version of the script, Max Shreck was discovered to be the Penguin’s older brother.

https://youtu.be/Too3qgNaYBE