Tuesday 28 September 2010

Batman Returns (5 Stars)


This is one of the rare cases where a sequel is superior to the original film. While keeping a gothic background Tim Burton added a colourful counterpoint. Batman's seriousness stands in direct contrast to the camp playfulness of the Penguin.

But it's all about the masks. When Bruce and Selina don their masks they become someone else. Or maybe they become their true selves. At the mask ball they're the only ones without masks. They have to stand apart from the rest of the world.

5 comments:

  1. I do like this movie. I honestly think that Walken was sort of a 'mary sue' type character. He fit in but not as well as the other characters. Yes, this coming from the Walken obsessed chick.

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  2. Pfeiffer's catwoman and the chemistry between her and Keaton's batman, made this movie. Walken was great, but hey that's just because he's Christopher f'ing Walken after all. I don't consider it better than the first overall as a movie, but I liked the catwoman/batman aspects better.

    You don't compare these to the most recent remakes. The 80s/90s versions were definitely camp. I didn't prefer the ones without Keaton as batman. However! The remakes which are not campy are amazing in my opinion and Heath Ledger's Joker will be the Joker archetype in film going forward, I think.

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  3. I find this better than the previous film because Tim Burton went wilder. The fight scenes were even more exaggerated.

    But please... I agree that Heath Ledger fitted the role better than Jack Nicholson, but for me Cesar Romero was the best Joker ever. Nobody else comes even close.

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  4. I have to disagree about Cesar Romero. Then again - I have _always_ preferred the Dark Knight to the traditional series, so that would explain my views on the films.

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  5. I guess we have to beg to differ on the subject of Cesar Romero. But one thing is undisputable. If you look at the Joker in Batman comics, Cesar is the one who looks most like the comic book Joker. At least he used to be. I haven't read any Batman comics for at least five years.

    But there's a reason for the similarity. Cesar Romero was hired to play the Joker, and then, after the contract had already been signed, he was asked to shave off his moustache. He refused for reasons of vanity. Rather than get into a legal battle they agreed to let him keep it, but he had to powder over it to hide it. This almost succeeded, but his moustache was still visible as a dark shadow over his mouth. Cesar's portrayal of the Joker became so iconic, that soon this dark shadow was added to the comic book character, where it remained for decades, maybe even till today. So we can say that Cesar Romero made the Joker what he is today.

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