It's the 28th anniversary of the film that, because of its "dark version", was marked and rejected by parents and children... "Batman Returns".
Hi Hivers, in recent days I've seen news where several films that can be considered classics of the cinema and were so successful that they endure over time, but there was one that caught my attention and I think that sometimes it does not have a great recognition it deserves.
Just a year ago I made a post about one of the movies I liked the most, that is Batman (1989) by Tim Burton, this was a film that not only pushed comic book heroes to take a big step into the world of cinema, but also totally changed my perspective on this character because when I was a kid I didn't read comics and I had only seen their TV version, Both in animated series and the one starring Adam West in 66', that's why this story was completely important to me, I ended up with a light vision about this character and accepted the story of a man who, in order to deal with the trauma of losing his parents, decided to reveal his true personality just by using a mask and his fears to confront ruthless criminals in Gotham.
After the great success of this film both at the box office and by selling products such as costumes, toys, clothes and also by the great range of villains that this story has, it was sure that at some point there would be a sequel, of course for that time could not make a great follow up as it is done now, but when the film was ready and the promotion began, it was inevitable to have that happiness to continue exploring the story of the gentleman of the night and when it was released my older brother and I went to the movies excited to see that movie, but when we finished watching it I was not very convinced of what I had seen, I was never afraid of the characters, Penguin was repulsive and I think that was the intention of its director, Catwoman was sexy and lethal, but I think my biggest problem was the lack of Batman in this story, it was not like I had seen in the movie of 89', I'm not saying it was bad, but somehow I felt disappointed when I left the theater.
In the end I fell into that argument that if this movie was darker than the previous one and it was something that I always agreed with, maybe not to tell the truth about what I really didn't like and that was that Batman didn't show any new artifacts, I think that was my main criticism at that time and at this time I think it's unfair and shallow, but not only my opinion of when I was young about this film is what led me to make a review but I just saw several interviews in talkshows to children where their parents took them to see Batman Returns and many of them complained about the violence, rejected the version of the villains and of course, the phrase that would mark this film "It's very dark", so now when I see this film again I want to give a true and fair opinion on the sequel made by Burton.
"Batman Retuns" must be the most different superhero movie ever made, its function is not only to show the hero as someone who will never be defeated but to show the villains why they become just that, but what I like most is that it shows Bruce Wayne with a question mark over whether or not to remain Batman, but it also shows that high degree of madness of the character that when he finds out he has a new enemy to defeat he will not stop in any way because in the end his real motive in life is to defend Gotham and the innocents who live in that city, this is something that I found fascinating in both films directed by Burton, he does not hide in exploring the mind of this hero and his decision to wear a mask to fight crime.
As I said before, this is a very different film from others we have seen of heroes, at least for that time and much later, in its first act is completely focused on real and fictitious villains, both in its origin and in its already existence in a society, we see how corruption and the emergence of the high social class in Gotham has benefited from the emergence of Batman, all this represented by a new character called "Max Shreck" played by Christopher Walken, when I was young I could never accept this character, for me it was another negative point in this movie, when I saw it a few days ago, I think that he is the most real villain that I have seen in a film of heroes and unfortunately until today there are people who act like this character, The other two villains much more known than the previous one are "The Penguin", a rejected by his wealthy family because of his grotesque appearance, he acts like an animal and he has a plan to punish all the high society that does not accept anyone who is equal to them and the other villain or villain is the great "Catwoman", which not only its appearance is of the best in the film but its complete history as an anti-hero that also seeks to punish a society that only defined it as a simple secretary and has reduced importance to everything that can get to do, in these characters had an excellent interpretation by Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer, these three villains were so well written that they could somehow fill what he did Jack Nicholson in the previous film.
Tim Burton with much more power of decision, gave more strength to this battle of "Freak Show" in Gotham, all this knowing the limits of confrontation and strength between each of these characters, they were given clear moments between dialogues and fights that I can even say that was done better than the previous film, that's why I think the scene time of "Batman" is limited leaving a full performance in the final act, but always letting the important interaction be with Catwoman than with The Penguin, with whom at the beginning it seemed that they could have things in common, but it is the relationship between Selina Kyle and Bruce, where there is a clear connection when he feels that they are similar and that they can even help each other overcome their traumas.
Watching this film again, I can have a criticism and that is that its action scenes are limited and repetitive, there is nothing that stands out and dazzles as if it happened in 89', this is what I could perhaps conceive when I saw it 28 years ago and I could never express it well, now after seeing it again I still think that it is a dark story? Not at all, now I agree with Tim Burton, who says that this movie is less dark than "Batman" and he is really right, the humor is very good from the three villains and even at some point between Alfred and Bruce, yes, it is true the action is the same, but the acting, dialogues and many shots are excellent and the story is also excellent, I like that they even put a reference to the age of the characters because they make you see that if this line was followed with these actors for sure we could see in the future a much older Batman already in the company of Robin or another sidekick who was close to owning the mantle as a protector of Gotham.
When I was thinking about making this post, the good news was that Michael Keaton, wearing the mantle of the Dark Knight, would return, hopefully it will be confirmed soon because his version of both Bruce Wayne and Batman, is very important to me, I hope they make an excellent story and give a continuation and conclusion to such a nice version of this character created by Burton since both films made by this director were among the best there are and I can even say that this particular film could be an influence to what we saw in "The Dark Knight Rises", in ways of how the high society of Gotham lives and how those who have little are marginalized and even a phrase of Catwoman not wanting to kill Batman so that it does not become a symbol of justice for society as if it ends up being in the last film of Nolan of this character, as you see this sequel has a great importance and should always have a great recognition for what we saw 28 years ago and for future generations.
