Santy Clause? 'Fraid Not (#17: Batman Returns)

Following the success of Batman, Tim Burton took the goth and turned it up to 11.

That aristocratic criminal kingpin with a penchant for parasols, who we used to think looked like this:

Burgess Meredith as the Penguin

Now looked like this:

Danny DeVito as the Penguin

That cat burglar with a literal sense for the theatrical:

Julie Newmar as Catwoman

 

Got just a smidge S&M-y:

 

Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman

 

However, Burton's Max Shreck...

 

Christopher Walken as Max Schreck

 

...is far less terrifying than the original:

 

Actor Max Schreck in Nosferatu

So next time someone says Burton's Batman films are too lightweight, remind them of this:

 

 

#17: Batman Returns

 

Following an opening prologue featuring a cameo by Mr. P.W. Herman himself (Paul Reubens), Batman Returns truly begins some time after the events of Batman. Vicky Vale's out of the picture (Keaton mumbles something about her being able to handle the two sides of his life or something) and Bruce Wayne is back to business as usual: billionaire eccentric playboy by day, gadget-obsessed vigilante by night. That is until the Penguin (DeVito) and his Red Triangle Gang of circus freaks spoil the Gotham City treelighting ceremony presided over by power-hungry rich dude, Max Schreck (Walken). Meanwhile, Schreck's hairbrained assistant, Selina Kyle (Pfeiffer) gets a bit too curious and finds herself on the wrong side of a third story window - resusciated by a pack of alley cates, Kyle turns into Catwoman and millions of 13 year old boys would never be the same. Long story short, Batman finds himself squaring off with all three: the Penguin, Catwoman, and Schreck. Due to her, uh-hum, animal magnetism, Catwoman proves the toughest to get rid of.

 

Batman Returns is a dizzy freakhouse of movie. The performances are overboard across the board, with the exception of the subtle Keaton (have I mentioned that I love Micheal Keaton?), who manages to make the titular character the straight man/audience surrogate. But the breadth of the characterization matches the bigness of the material. Burton and screenwriter Daniel Waters (Heathers, Hudson Hawk, Demolition Man are his other well-known credits) introduce some bizarre and, as far as I know, original touches to these iconic characters: flipper hands, a sewer residence, and a diet of raw fish for the Penguin; the aforementioned cat resusciation and supernatural nine lives for Catwoman. (DC comics readers - that stuff was new, right? but some of it has become canonical?) Also, Walken's Max Schreck has no comics lineage and was invented out of whole cloth - Back to the Future hair and superthick pinstripe suits and all. Despite the outlandish characters and the complexity of the plot(s), Burton keeps the carousel spinning smoothly.

 

Also, its set at Christmas. Which makes it one of my favorite type of films: the non-Christmas Christmas movie. See also, Sneakers and Die Hard.

 

 

 

Oh, yes. And there's Walken. A little Walken goes a long way. A lot Waken goes even longer.

 

Final verdict: KEEPER.

 

Next up: As much as I love Val Kilmer and George Clooney, we skip the missteps that were Batman Forever and Batman & Robin and move right along to BATMAN BEGINS!