Analyzing The Batman Franchise (Pt. 2 of 8) : Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns (1992)

Directed By: Tim Burton

Batman/Bruce Wayne: Michael Keaton

Love Interest: Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Played By: Michelle Pfeiffer)

Villains: The Penguin (Danny Devito), Catwoman (MP), and Max Schreck (Chris Walken)

Score: Danny Elfman

High Points:

• Michael Keaton's Batman was serviceable, but still killed people.
• Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman was dark, mesmerizing, and seductive. Make note that I said her "Catwoman" and not her Selina Kyle.
• The opening fight sequence against the Red Triangle Circus Gang was fun. (Even though Batman burned some poor bastard to death).
• Bo Welch took over the Art Direction from Anton Furst and brought us a beautiful Gotham Square during Christmas time. (There was no reason for this movie to be set during Christmas other than Gotham looks cool in the snow).
• I will outright say that I fucking love Danny Devito in whatever he is in, so I give him props here for at least trying. (Christopher Walken sure as hell didn't)
• The Penguin wore his monocle. (For like a second)
• Bruce calls Alfred out for being a dickhead when he let Vicki Vale in the Batcave in the last movie.
• I will also say I dug the Penguin for Mayor angle. (It just could have worked better with the comic book version of the character)
• The Masquerade dance sequence when Selina and Bruce discover each other's alternate identities was an emotional charged scene.
• Catwoman and Penguin do a good job framing Batman for the murder of the Ice Princess. (Then decide to do nothing with this leverage)
• The sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

Favorite Line: "Seems like every woman you try to save ends up dead... or deeply resentful. Maybe you should retire." - Catwoman

Favorite Scene: The Bat, The Cat, and The Penguin finally meet; Batman fights Catwoman

Why?: Batman may all of a sudden forget how to fight, but that's probably becuase he was mesmerized by Michelle Pfieffer.

Low Points:

• Needless Biblical references: Penguin got thrown into river like Moses, then later on wanted to kill the first born sons of Gotham. He was also 33 years old in the movie like Jesus in the Bible. So if you are religious (I am not, but to each his own) this movie is try to tell you that the Penguin is the true God.
• Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle was underdeveloped and her transformation was totally unexplained. Were the cats that bit her fingers, magical street cats? I feel like you are more likely to get Hepatitis or herpes from street cats than superpowers.
• It felt like Batman was barely in his own film.
• Penguin's terrible plans were easily thwarted. There was no tension whatsoever.
• The only time any plan worked was when Penguin framed Batman for the murder of the Ice Princess, but less than 5 mins after that occurred it was resolved.
• What the fuck was leaking from the Penguin's mouth?
• Penguin gets the Tim Burton treatment. Instead of being a high brow criminal, he is turned in a deformed perverted freak, who wants to murder children.
• Batman stopped two of Penguin's schemes by jamming frequencies with Alfred. First he pumped in audio to destroy Penguin's mayoral run, then he jammed the signal that was guiding the penguin's with missiles. Batman really could have just stayed at home the whole movie if this was all it took to stop this chubby asshole. (Seriously Danny was a more menacing villain in Lethal Weapon 5).
• Hijacking the Batmobile had no rhyme or reasoning to it. Was Penguin trying to kill Batman? Or defame him further? Just made no sense.
• Max Shrek = Cliched greedy businessman played by Chris Walken, who really didn't give a shit.
• Once again Batman and Gordon's relationship is non-existent.

Worst Line: "My dear penguins, we stand on a great threshold! It's okay to be scared; many of you won't be coming back. Thanks to Batman, the time has come to punish *all* God's children! 1st, 2nd, 3rd *and* 4th-born! Why be biased? Male and female! Hell, the sexes are equal with their erogenous zones blown sky high! Forward march! The liberation of Gotham has begun!" - The Penguin

Worst Scene: Penguin's pump up speech. 

Why?: It was the worst line for a reason. It was just such a ridiculous moment.

Verdict: Tim Burton won a lot of good will with Warners Bros because Batman (1989) was such a finical success. So with that good will came more creative freedom for Burton when he worked on Batman Returns (1992). And with that creative freedom came Tim Burton's version of the Penguin, an ugly, deformed, perverted, plump, aquatic bird boy freak. A total and complete departure from the character's comic book counterpart. As I said yesterday, Tim Burton loves his freaks. So because he didn't have another Joker to toy with, he turned the Penguin into one. Well actually Tim didn't do it alone, the screenwriter Daniel Waters (Heathers) can take some of the credit as well. Besides destroying my boy Ozzie, Water's script contained zero tension because all of the problems presented to Batman were easily resolved. For god sakes Penguin's plot to kill the firstborns, that he was working on the whole film, was stopped in two seconds. All we got to see his Batman's hands grab the train driver. But despite all those problems, I still love this movie for some reason. Could it be nostalgia, or because I had a boyhood crush on Michelle Pfieffer's Catwoman, or maybe it's because I have a massive Danny Devito bias? I don't know what it is, but I watch this movie every year around Christmas. Gotham just looks great in the snow you know? But at the end of the day I got to give this flick a reasonable rating, so Batman Returns gets a 6.5 out of 10. Danny Devito was born to play the Penguin, the real Penguin, not this fucking strange perverted version. 

Now here is a real villain!

Thanks for reading. Stayed tuned for an analysis of Batman Forever tomorrow. And make sure to follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers or follow me @cstrand73 for all your comic book and Caped Informers news and stories.

Check out the rest of our look back at Batman's film history by clicking the link below.

Batman (1989)

More great are by Francesco Francavilla

Gotham "Spirt of The Goat" Review

Harvey reflects back on better days, while Oswald takes a bath on an all new Gotham.

Synopsis: A killer targets Gotham elite’s firstborn children, and the case brings back painful memories for Bullock. Elsewhere, Gordon is forced to deal with the consequences of his past decisions.

High Points

• Interesting to see Harvey's past
• Jim Gordon can kick some serious ass
• They got the Penguin's middle name right
• Fish Mooney didn't show up

You can cut the sexual tension with a knife

Low Points

• Couldn't come up with a better name for the killer than The Goat
• Edward Nygma is nauseating
• Nevermind he is fucking worse than nauseating
• I would rather eat my own shit than to watch him on screen
• Cobblepot's mom is a caricature joke
• Nice Silence of the Lambs ripoff with the penny
• Selina breaks into Wayne manor for no apparent reason
• Umm that Penguin and Mama bath scene...
• The villain was hypnotism

Verdict: This week Jim and Harvey go after a serial killer that has ties to a case Harvey solved years back. Now this ep. kinda reminded me of last year's episode of Arrow entitled "Broken Dolls" (If you haven't seen it, go watch it, it's great). That being said Arrow did this scenario much better than Gotham. Det. Lance on Arrow had a strong emotional connection to the old killings because the victims were all women in their early 20's and his daughter, who was that age, had recently died. Lance thought that if he could stop this killer (The Dollmaker), it was almost like her could save his daughter. Now on Gotham, Harvey had no real emotional trauma from his old case. In fact the writers could have killed off his old partner (appropriately named Dicks after what kind of bag this show sucks) to give Harvey more of a connection to the case. But there was no emotion. Instead it was an easily solved case (Solved by looking at who took days off from work!) with an easily caught baddie who went by a terrible name (Spirit of the Goat, really?). Yes there was a twist that a random therapist and her hypnotism caused these Goat men to go on killing sprees, but that was laughable explanation  As for other story lines, Edward Nygma's portrayal is irritating and unneeded. We get that he will be The Riddler, but stop having him talking in riddles and start having him be a person. Eddy in the comics has always thought he was the smartest person in any room he stepped into. Show him doing something mildly intelligent. Any asshole can google riddles and say them aloud. On one final note, Oswald couldn't even save this episode. He took a bath with his mom. That's about it. overall I give "Spirit of the Goat" a 3.0 out of 10. This show needs to be better than this because if this is the best Gotham has in store then it's gonna be a long season.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Gotham's sixth episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out our reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. See you next week folks!

Believe it when I say i like Jim Carrey's better

Famous Baths: Penguin shared a bath with mother tonight So I thought we should look back at history's most famous bath. It was of course the time President Taft got his fatass stuck in the presidential tub at the White House. Just think about that anytime you are feeling down. Also Penguin's bath reminded me of Blazing Saddles. "Mother that's not froggy"

Gotham "Selina Kyle" Review/Thoughts

This week's Gotham episode titled "Selina Kyle" surprising has very little Selina Kyle to go along with a very "by the numbers" procedural case.

Episode Description: Detectives Gordon and Bullock investigate a child trafficking ring preying on Gotham’s street kids, including Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova). Meanwhile, Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) resurfaces in the countryside and begins to make his way back to GOTHAM, leaving victims in his wake.

High Points

• Jim Gordon and Barbara Kean are a solid moral compass
• Oswald's killing spree is fun
• Excited to see Mooney's power play against Falcone
• Professor Pyg?
• Bullock and Gordon remain an interesting pair

Low Points:

• Boring "by the numbers" case
• Absolutely no tension or suspension
• Lame ass kidnappers
• Lame shootouts once again
• Still hate Hardo Alfred
• David Mazouz's performance was cringe-worthy
• Unexciting case conclusion
• Episode titled Selina Kyle has little Selina Kyle
• Beginning to feel like just another network procedural

Verdict: Gotham's second episode did little to utilize the show's potential. Bullock and Gordon  go on a "by the numbers" no surprises case that gave the audience zero tension and zero connection to any of the kids being kidnapped except Selina. And she only spoke once before being nabbed. Sure McKenzie's Gordon and Logue's Bullock have an interesting working relationship but that main storyline was just a total dud. Thank god for Oswald Cobblepot and dare I say Fish Mooney. Ozzy's killing spree as he makes his way back to the city is a load of fun. While Mooney's future play against Carmine Falcone is the only story line I am actually interested in. So overall I give Gotham's second episode a 5.5 out of 10. Once again this show isn't bad, but it sure as hell isn't good. I hope the impending mob war and perhaps even Prof. Pyg help bolster this frustrating ordinary show.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Gotham's second episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out my reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. See you next week folks!

Gotham Tweet of the Week:  @Caped_Informers "The Dollmaker! How many villains are we gonna see in season 1? Im expecting to see Victor Fries driving an ice cream truck by ep 10 now."

'Gotham' Adds Kyle Massey For Guest Role

In a move that should surprise no one, TV Line reports that Fox's Gotham has cast the much sought after thespian Kyle Massey (That's So Raven) in a guest role for it's inaugural season. Massey will play a neglected and abused street kid named Macky. Could he be a new playmate for Selina Kyle or Fish Mooney? Or could Gordon nab him while pulling a B&E? We will find out when Gotham airs in the Fall.

Source: TV Line

Hopefully Cory and the Boys can make an appearance as well. Gotham could use some love.

Superhero Woman Crush Wednesday: (4/30/14)

Woman Crush: Emma Stone

The year was 2007, I was a plump sixteen year old watching Superbad in a theater with my father, when it happened. I saw a young beautiful red headed actress appear onscreen alongside a very plump Jonah Hill. I thought she had great timing comedic timing, but what really drew me to her was every word she spoke felt natural. Even though she was playing a role, you felt that a part of her really was the cool girl who you could joke about dicks and hymens with. Fast forward seven years later. With several projects under her belt and her real blonde hair finally revealing itself, Emma Stone has become one of Hollywood's most beloved actresses. In 2011, Emma nabbed the role of Peter Parker's first love Gwen Stacy. Her Gwen was intelligent, understanding, and beautiful. Emma brought her natural likability to the character and because of that, the chemistry between Gwen and Peter has been the highlight of the Amazing Spiderman franchise so far. In my book Emma will forever be that insanely funny cool girl next door. That girl who just has a smile that makes you want to smile. So check her out in The Amazing Spiderman 2 opening in theaters Friday.

"Easy, Bug Boy."

Check Emma kicks Jimmy Fallon's ass in a Lip Sync battle two days ago. Winning lip singing battles and being awesome is just the Emma Stone way.

-Christian 

Character Crush: Catwoman

For every great super hero, there is always a women who is either trying to rob him, get with him, or fight him. Today that woman is Catwoman. Ah yes Miss Selina Kyle is quite the character in Gotham City. Anyone running around in a black leather body suit who think she's half cat is A-Ok in my book. Plus the flexibility and the sneakiness doesn't bother me either. Although she has no powers or isnt even exactly a hero, Catwoman never stops amazing me. I bet you didn't know this but the chick can fight folks. She knows some pretty sweet combat moves, and knows how to make a great escape. Who wouldn't want that in a women? I'm not talkin about the creepy "I got attacked by cats so now I'm Catwoman". I'm talking about the classic Selina whose sly and knows her way around a good crime and robbery. So Bats, is it too much to ask to share and let us simpleton bloggers get a shot at Catwoman?? Well deserved character women crush for this Wednesday.

"My mother always told me never to get into cars with strange men"

-Brady