Batman Returns (1992)

Directed by Tim Burton. Starring Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Keaton, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Michael Murphy, Vincent Schiavelli, Andrew Bryniarski, Cristi Conaway. [PG-13]

Sequel to the 1989 comic book blockbuster practically thumbs its nose at being an accessible assembly-line recreation (as blockbuster sequels tend to be), and instead turns a superhero action story into a bleak, wintry world of misfits; an arty, psychosexual nightmare populated by damaged souls and spun askew as a grotesque freakshow. Once again, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Keaton) is practically a supporting player in his own movie, yielding the spotlight more often than not to a pair of new foes: the deformed Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin (DeVito), abandoned as an infant, now living in the sewers, plotting his revenge; and Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman (Pfeiffer), a meek and frazzled secretary who transforms into a felonious feline femme fatale after a near-death experience. To date, DeVito and Pfeiffer’s interpretations of their characters (and their sheer screen presence) have yet to be topped by any other live-action cinematic version—and there’s a third big baddie tucked away in there (murderous businessman Max Shreck, invented by writers Daniel Waters and Sam Hamm, and played by Walken in his trademark style)—but the actual star of the film is director Burton, whose vision and personality are stamped all over its weirdly-textured, heavily-atmospheric, and darkly-gorgeous flesh. The narrative feels as stitched together as Catwoman’s sleek latex suit, and is downright bonkers a lot of the time (an army of mind-controlled penguin commandos with rockets strapped to their backs??), but it’s so overloaded with creativity and dazzling visuals that it’s hard not to go along with it all anyway. The series would continue with a different director and lead actor in Batman Forever.

80/100