Fucking hellYep. Burton was setting up Billy D to be Two-Face but after Batman '89 was a huge hit Warner didn't want a black guy in the role so they bought him out of his contract. Same thing happened with Burton wanting Marlon Waynes to be Robin and Warner bought him out too and painted his action figures white. Hence why Robin has a high top lol. All the baggage surrounding the films ruins my desire to revisit them.
Is Batman Returns a good movie or a bad movie?
- Thread starter Uzumaki Goku
- Start date
So much camp, but damn does it look good.My favorite Batman movie besides animated ones.
Peak Burton and Elfman, such an incredible aesthetic.
I love it.
Best live-action Batman film for me. Peak Tim Burton along with Ed Wood.
As for it being a bad adaptation or whatever, I just take it as a wonderfully weird Elseworlds story. I love the psychopath Batman that Keaton plays here.
I miss the days when superhero films could have such a strong sense of identity and style. Which is why I also love Ang Lee's Hulk, as flawed as it is.
Best live-action Batman film for me. Peak Tim Burton along with Ed Wood.
As for it being a bad adaptation or whatever, I just take it as a wonderfully weird Elseworlds story. I love the psychopath Batman that Keaton plays here.
I miss the days when superhero films could have such a strong sense of identity and style. Which is why I also love Ang Lee's Hulk, as flawed as it is.
It's weird as fuck and I love it. Not sure if I like it more than 89 or not, but either way they're the best Batman movies and Keaton remains the best Batman.
I'd say it's the best of the original four Batman films, though none set a high standard. Fun film with strikingly dark aesthetics. Also Batman just kinda kills people with a smile on his face.
Its my favorite of the 90s quartet of Batman movies
Its a simple concept, but I appreciate that the three villains are weird dark reflections to the different sides of Batman (Batman as a vigilante, Batman as a freak, Batman as a multimillionaire public figure) instead of being tossed in just cause like most super hero movies that have oodles of villains.
Its a simple concept, but I appreciate that the three villains are weird dark reflections to the different sides of Batman (Batman as a vigilante, Batman as a freak, Batman as a multimillionaire public figure) instead of being tossed in just cause like most super hero movies that have oodles of villains.
Setting this movie at Christmas time with the snow was a really great design choice.My favorite Batman movie besides animated ones.
Peak Burton and Elfman, such an incredible aesthetic.
I love both Burton movies. They're not perfect but both are such a huge part of my childhood and introduction to Batman (along with reruns of the 66 show) that I can't help but love them.
I've always said this about them:
Batman 89 is a great Batman movie that just happens to be directed by Tim Burton.
Batman Returns is a really good Tim Burton movie that just happens to have Batman in it.
When it first came out, I didn't like it at all as a Batman movie. It all felt just a bit too goofy for a film featuring that character.
Only recently have I been able to gain more of an appreciation for it as a piece of work that was a certain creator's vision of what Batman's world would be. I still don't feel like Tim Burton truly understood what things made Batman awesome, but nevertheless what he came up with was entertaining. It's too bad Superman never came to fruition.
This is a great way to put it.
Only recently have I been able to gain more of an appreciation for it as a piece of work that was a certain creator's vision of what Batman's world would be. I still don't feel like Tim Burton truly understood what things made Batman awesome, but nevertheless what he came up with was entertaining. It's too bad Superman never came to fruition.
This is a great way to put it.
One of my fave Batman movies, and like the OP said, the first movie I saw in theatres as a kid. Bought the 4K and rewatched recently, and it's absolutely less a comic book superhero film and more a gothic fantasy fairy tale with vastly different interpretations of the villains from the comics. Honestly I put both The Dark Knight and Batman Returns on equal footing as films that set out exactly what they want to do, and it's incredible that a character like Batman can have equally awesome interpretations between those two and BvS.
One of the best Batman films ever. I love everything about it....except for Catwoman who I HATE. Hate her design, acting, and personality. The Catwoman suit is legitimately disgusting.
Rest is aces, tho
Rest is aces, tho
Wait what? Where can I read more about this?Yep. Burton was setting up Billy D to be Two-Face but after Batman '89 was a huge hit Warner didn't want a black guy in the role so they bought him out of his contract. Same thing happened with Burton wanting Marlon Waynes to be Robin and Warner bought him out too and painted his action figures white. Hence why Robin has a high top lol. All the baggage surrounding the films ruins my desire to revisit them.
It's a great movie because Burton got a green light and unlimited money to just make as weird a film as possible. And it fits with his interpretation of the character. The distillation of why it works and BvS Batfleck doesn't is ultimately because Burton is trying and establishing very early that his Batman has it's own rules, universe, and establishment. BvS tries to do that while also trying to be the normal Batman we all know which conflicts with itself and ultimately leaves the character empty. Burton understood in those days how to play with themes and imagery to perfect effect, I'm so so bummed that they bought him out after the film because it "tested too weird" and we never got Billy Dee Two-Face.
The costume designs are kinda crappy in points though. And the action always sucked but you kinda roll with it considering the costume was basically plastic.
The costume designs are kinda crappy in points though. And the action always sucked but you kinda roll with it considering the costume was basically plastic.
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My favorite Batman movie besides animated ones.
Peak Burton and Elfman, such an incredible aesthetic.
Dammit now I gotta go buy the 4K Blurays...
I mean really the sad bit is that we'll never get a big budget blockbuster like this ever again. It's trite but in this case it's true, you couldn't make something like this today.
The sets and production design pale in comparison to the first. I would even put both Schumacher films above it in that regard.
Now excuse me while I throw up.
Now excuse me while I throw up.
"I'll murder you momentarily.... but first I need a cold drink of ice water"
Penguin had the best villain death of all the Batman movies.
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I don't think it's a great movie, but it's the only one of the older Batman movies that I actually like.
It's a bad movie that never attempts to be a compelling Batman story. I typically call it "Beetlejuice Returns" since that's the movie I think Tim Burton was trying to make. At any rate, it's campy and ham-fisted in the same way the Schumacher films are — only the latter two aren't as dark and have superior character exploration. The score is very well done, of course, but that's about all I give it.
Camp as fuck, but at least it isn't Batman Forever or Batman and Robin.
I like the darker toned Batman films.
I like the darker toned Batman films.
I mean, look at the lead actors (and actress) and their performances. They elevate the movie to something even Nolan had a hard time competing with. Also Pfeiffer looks God fucking amazing in this movie, it's one of the most stunning things I've seen in my life.
The intersection of Bruce and Selina's romance (very lonely, disturbed people finding warmth in their shared duality), the Penguin's anger and resentment over his parents' abandonment, and Shreck's relationship with his idiot son (wherein he finds the one shred of selflessness in his otherwise irredeemable soul) is something no other Batman movie has even approached, let alone surpassed. The desperate human need for family is the very core of Batman, and this movie is the only one that really, really shows it.
Returns is bizarre, gross, nonsensical, and preposterous. But its emotional core is so solid and absolute, and the score and visual design so harmonious and persuasive in service of that core, that it stomps every other Batman film into the fucking dirt.
Returns is bizarre, gross, nonsensical, and preposterous. But its emotional core is so solid and absolute, and the score and visual design so harmonious and persuasive in service of that core, that it stomps every other Batman film into the fucking dirt.