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Movies / On DVD / Batman Returns
Batman Returns

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Batman Returns (1992)

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Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:33

Rotten:10

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Director Tim Burton's dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael Keaton's work as the tormented hero, and the flawless casting of Danny DeVito as The Penguin and Christopher Walken as, well, Christopher Walken make the sequel better than the first.

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: In director Tim Burton's sequel to his successful BATMAN (1989), the Caped Crusador (Michael Keaton) is pitted against the demented, ravenous Penguin (Danny DeVito), a pitiful, orphaned... In director Tim Burton's sequel to his successful BATMAN (1989), the Caped Crusador (Michael Keaton) is pitted against the demented, ravenous Penguin (Danny DeVito), a pitiful, orphaned psychopathic freak who once went on a baby-killing spree, and a "power" hungry capitalist villain Max Shreck (Christopher Walken). As the two criminals plot to gain domination over Gotham City, BATMAN must plot to stop them. In the highly stylized BATMAN RETURNS--complete with dark, Gothic architecture and moody lighting--Batman (and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne) is thrown a third enemy, a terrible distraction: Cat Woman (fearlessly and fabulously played by Michelle Pfeiffer). She is the slinky, sharp-clawed alter-ego of Shreck's secretary Selina. Batman must overcome his own dark past, and his present love entanglements, to rid Gotham of it's evil enemies, this time with even more intricately designed sets and tongue-in-cheek humor, making BATMAN RETURNS an action-packed, but darkly fun adventure. [More]

Starring: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken

Starring: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Michael Murphy, Cristi Conaway, Andrew Bryniarski, Paul Reubens

Director: Tim Burton

Director: Tim Burton

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Batman Returns

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Bigger, better and more sophisticated than the first outing.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/27/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bigger, louder, more relentlessly action-packed than its predecessor, Batman Returns batters its audience into submission.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 1 Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Atmospheric and utterly barmy.

comment Comment
06/12/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Burton continues to capture the essence of the Batman legend and more importantly his audiences imagination.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/16/02
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

O design de produção é inspirado e Keaton busca conferir peso dramático ao herói, mas o roteiro é pedestre e Pingüim jamais se torna um vilão interessante. Por outro lado, a sensualidade de Pfeiffer quase redime o filme. Quase.

comment Comment
07/21/08
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

No review available.

comment Comment
09/16/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

More of the same, but nowhere near as good (funny, disturbing, obsessive) as the uneven original, revealing arrested development on every level.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
04/16/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

The fights and chases are incoherent and over-the-top, with the result being confusion rather than suspense.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/16/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Where Burton's ideas end and those of his collaborators begin is impossible to know, but result is a seamless, utterly consistent universe full of nasty notions about societal deterioration, greed and other base impulses.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/16/07
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is less of a sequel than reworking of the first film's themes, with greater attention paid to the villains (all colorful and more intriguing than the hero) and more visually inventive set pieces, albeit contained in a less coherent work.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
04/20/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A bizarre mixture of poetic brilliance and clumsy ineptitude.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/20/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

About the only thing it had going for it was Pfeiffer in a catsuit, stiletto heels, with a whip. Wowsers.

comment Comment
10/07/05
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

The movie in which Tim Burton mostly fixes what he got wrong ... Unfortunately, he also screws up the stuff he got right.

Full Review Source: LYTRules.com | comment Comment
06/27/05
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
LYTRules.com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/12/05
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

No review available.

comment Comment
02/25/05
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

Burton['s] staging is expert, and his character conceptions are distinctive and gratifying.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
01/17/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
01/14/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
11/21/04
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

the last good batman movie thanks to MP

comment 1 Comment
03/06/04
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

A fast, funny, exciting assault on the senses that outshines the overrated original.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/01/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Batman Returns

July 11, 2008: Revisiting Old Batman Trailers Opens in new window
We've all enjoyed the long parade of trailers for The Dark Knight -- but do you remember the trailers for the earlier Batman movies? JoBlo does, and now, so can we. More...

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Fans of the dark comedy classic known as "Heathers" should be pleased to learn that screenwriter Daniel Waters and leading lady Winona Ryder are re-teaming to deliver... More...

January 03, 2006: Vincent Schiavelli Passes at 57
Character actor Vincent Schiavelli, the long-faced veteran of over 150 film and television appearances, died of lung cancer December 26 at home in Sicily. He was 57 years old. More...

August 16, 2005: Three More Climb Aboard "X-Men 3"
Stax over at IGN Filmforce has scored a nifty little exclusive that may prove interesting to you "X-Man" fans: Bill Duke, Michael Murphy, and Olivia Williams have... More...

See All

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