After the stylistically innovative and iconic take on Batman was released in 1989, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton teamed up again for Batman Returns, which is just as over-the-top as you remember. However, as we’ve seen with the overwhelming response to the heart and warmth of the 2025 Superman, audiences are craving a superhero movie that feels like you can reach out and touch it. Though Batman Returns doesn’t have the do-gooder energy of a project like Superman, there’s something accessible about its campy style.
Whether audiences prefer the original or the sequel, Burton’s Batman movies have taken on a life of their own. In some ways, their legacy has outgrown the actual quality of the projects, which feel instantly dated and strange by today’s standards. However, going into Batman Returns, ready and willing to enjoy the film’s most unbelievable and hilarious moments, makes it easy to enjoy. Keaton is as stoic and stony as always as the tortured Bruce Wayne, and his chemistry with Michelle Pfeiffer is as notable as ever.
The Darker Edge Of Batman Returns Is As Shocking Today As It Was In 1992
Few Superhero Movies Could Be As Experimental As Batman Returns Today
It’s incredible that the stars aligned to give Burton so much creative control over Batman Returns, allowing it to be the wild, weird adventure that’s shocking people to this day. Since Batman was such a box-office success, it makes sense that the studio would want there to be a sequel, but the tragedy of the story and the intensely Sєxual overtones weren’t what most audiences or critics were expecting. However, the very things that might turn some viewers off while watching Batman Returns might be why others prefer it.
Today, superhero movies, especially within the Batman universe, do have an inherent tragedy and darkness to them, as this is inherent to Bruce’s story. However, Batman Returns pushes this even further and attempts to shed the superhero and blockbuster idenтιтies altogether, making the romance between Bruce and Selina anything but chaste. Their opposing secret idenтιтies, but obvious desire for each other, is a more interesting love story than anything we’ve seen within the genre in years, even if it’s probably best not to watch with kids.
The star-studded cast does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of making Batman Returns translate to a wider audience base. With Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Christopher Walken as Max Shreck, the evil businessman, and then Keaton and Pfeiffer anchoring the story as Batman and Catwoman, the performances are just as fresh today. While Keaton’s turn as Batman has faced criticism for many years, he does embody Wayne’s ideological struggle. All of this is only elevated by the dramatic, artful sets and character design that have always defined Burton’s work, and lend themselves well to the Batman universe.
Batman Returns is one of the best examples of how Batman’s control over his violence and his vigilanteism is iron-clad because he shares the more hedonistic tendencies that Catwoman brings out in him. Conversely, DeVito is fun to watch, even if his take on the Penguin could never be as iconic as Jack Nicholson’s turn as The Joker, but Batman Returns knows this. However, Batman Returns is a much more nuanced, interrogative exploration of its deeper themes, critiquing capitalism and examining why we’re so attracted to Batman as a figure culturally.
Batman Returns Is Remarkably Ambitious, Even When It Doesn’t Stick The Landing
Batman Returns Can’t Always Live Up To Its Own Expectations, But This Is Why We Love It
It’s clear throughout Batman Returns that Burton wanted to craft a movie that would stand the test of time and never be compared to other additions to the superhero genre. In this respect, the film succeeded then and still does today, which is why there have been more recent attempts to shake up the ever-expanding world of superheroes onscreen. To take such big swings and risks with Batman Returns means that the film will always be polarizing, but also that it will remain impossible to forget.
In some ways, viewing Batman Returns as a superhero movie is a mistake, and watching it today only makes that more clear. Without the work done by the sequel, it’s unlikely that the genre would’ve been able to lean into the gritty, dark territory that defined it in the early 2000s and 2010s. However, Batman Returns transcends some of its grit and sadness by leaning into the campy and immersive style that is a delight to return to. Watching the movie with an awareness of its legacy and influence only makes the experience more fun today.
