For the sequel Burton had to try something different and I’m
all for that. It’s good to change things
up. And I think the best way to describe
this change is how a buddy of mine put it: it’s a Tim Burton movie that happens
to have Batman in it rather than a Batman movie made by Tim Burton (the only
thing I would add is that he’s talkin’ about the Burton before Planet of the Apes). There’s more drama and less action than the
first one, the characters are more fucked up psychologically and the focus is more
on relationships rather than some grand scheme.
Let’s look at Penguin for a minute because this whole movie
hinges on him. Burton wasn’t terribly
interested in making a sequel but he was given a lot of latitude by the studio
so essentially he made Penguin into Edward Scissorhands. He struggles with the man/beast thing. He thinks he wants to be better than just
some slime in the gutter but realizes he wasn’t meant to be among the citizens
above ground. He’s not some villain who
wants to take over the city because [insert reason here]. It’s about a fight with his identity. And because they made Penguin this way they
had to create another bad guy who actually does want to run Gotham. Max Shreck is the real villain here. He manipulates Penguin to get what he wants. Penguin only wants to kill all the first born
sons. Well, uh…that’s a pretty nasty
plot actually. Did I mention this thing
was kinda dark? Anyway, to have Penguin be
more of a monster and not a monocle wearing, cigarette holder smoking intellect
is quite a change. Sure they had some of
those aesthetic pieces in there because they had to throw the fans a bone but overall
he’s a different character. This Penguin
works ok in the picture but not great.
He’s no Joker (Nicholson’s or Ledger’s).
He looks really cool and I like that he has a beastly side to him. But I thought it was a shame that they had to add
another bad guy (a made up one too just for this production) and give him equal
footing with Penguin to help fill out the role.
Also towards the end Bruce looks like he doesn’t want to be
Batman anymore. He seems tired and like
he wants to give this shit up. It’s a
little depressing because I want his heart to be in his superhero work. I guess he’s had enough of almost dying all
the time and killing a lot of people.
The original ending didn’t have Catwoman appear right before
the credits. She was supposed to
die. If I remember correctly the studio
made Burton put her in but they had to use a double which is why you only see
the back of her head. Since Catwoman
doesn’t appear again in this series of Batmans
this move doesn’t make a difference to me.
In fact I would’ve preferred that she really was dead. Whatever, it’s not a big deal.
| This is a pretty funny looking screen capture. They both look like they're waiting for a bus. |
The last thing on Returns
I want to mention is the CD player. You already
know what I’m going to say don’t you? At
one point Bruce scratches a CD like a DJ making a beat. You can’t scratch a CD like vinyl. That’s not the way that technology works asshole. There’s no excuse for this. Either Burton knew better and didn’t care or
someone didn’t have the heart to tell him.
CD’s had been around for like ten years already so it’s completely
baffling how this made it into the movie.
It would’ve been incredibly easy to just not have that shot in the final
cut. And don’t give me that this is a
special Bat device where you can do that to CD’s. That’s just bullshit.
CD scratching aside I like Returns. It has good mood, a
good look and the characters are interesting.
It’s also probably the least comic booky feeling comic book film I’ve
seen. Ironically Batman Forever is one of the most comic booky pictures I’ve seen. And the two later sequels are really where I want
to head. I just thought I’d give a brief
piece on how I view Returns to help
bridge the gap.
Batman (1989)
Batman Forever
Batman Forever Laundry Scene
Batman & Robin
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