Batman Returns
When I saw Batman, I thought it was really cool. I have watched it several times since, but everytime I watch it, I fall asleep. The first time, I never fell asleep. But for some reason, every time after I just couldn't stay awake. However, Batman Returns, the sequel to Batman, kept me awake everytime I watched it. It became my favorite movie of 1992.
The movie opens with parents throwing their baby over a bridge into a small river. It floats down the river where it ends up at a place full of penguins. We jump ahead 33 years and it's Christmas. The Penguin, as everyone calls him, is only a myth, people say. However, he is real. His gang, the Red Circle Gang, ruins a speech, which has already been ruined by Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer). She forgot to give him the speech. She runs out to give it to him but all this mayhem is going on.
This is where Batman (Michael Keaton) shows up. He rescues Selina and leaves to finish his duties. She is lonely and needs a man desperately. When she arrives home, she greets herself at the door and meets her kitty by the refrigerator. The apartment is small and empty. She has to go back to the office and while she is there, the boss, Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), shows up. He finds out she has been snooping around and pushes her out a window. He thinks she is dead, but she is licked back to life by cats, hence Catwoman.
The movie is dark and brooding, just like the comic books. The original Batman had Jack Nicholson to keep it up. This movie, has Danny DeVito (as the Penguin) and Michelle Pfeiffer (as Catwoman). They keep this movie up and Catwoman steals the show in every scene that she is in. The Penguin, thought by most critics, is stupid and uninteresting. I find him intriguing. He is evil and you can tell. Catwoman, on the otherhand, is sleek and sly, like a cat. She wears a skin-tight black suit and a whip. She meows, in one of the most memorable scenes, which causes an explosion.
The plot is good, but kind of silly. But I don't care. The characters are great, the cast is very good, and the special effects are cool. The music, by Danny Elfman, keeps the movie's tone. The cinematography is really good too, especially in those miniature model sequences. The high point of this movie is Catwoman. Batman had The Joker and he was wickedly good. Catwoman is misunderstood and no one can see that. She keeps the film from dropping into another cliched action movie.
Batman Returns is rated PG-13. Parents say that it isn't a good movie to take young kids to. I say, "No kidding." That's why it is rated PG-13. It is violent, more that the original, and has some language. There is nothing really offensive for anyone over the age of 13.