Saturday, August 2, 2008

Batman Returns Movie Review

Batman Returns Movie Review

I figured I might as well get another comic book movie review in. Batman Returns was lofty in it's look and design, as I expected, but I got the feeling that I was duped again by the critics who proclaimed it the best thing since sliced bread. Somehow, I got the feeling some of them were selling tickets. It could have been MUCH shorter, like maybe an hour. It had about eighteen endings. All of the performances were excellent, but the length of the movie dragged them down, and I found myself not caring what happened in the end. I get the point of Batman being a somewhat reluctant hero, and I understand his connection to the citizens of Gotham, but I liked the approach in Spider-Man 2, when the people are carrying him out of the train. I got tired of watching the Joker's henchmen suddenly appear and know exactly what they're doing. I know it's fantasy, but what the Joker is able to do with his loyal, apparently highly trained thugs is so preposterous that it lost it's dramatic appeal. Even if the Joker is supposed to be a metaphor, I found the film over the top, and TOO violent. I believe it suffers from what most studio films are suffering from. There's so much money involved that it becomes an exercise in pulling out all the stops. Despite this, here is a heartfelt congratulations to the most talented people involved in the film, which are the designers and special effects artists and sound artists--anyone and everyone involved in the look and sound of the movie. Well done.

No comments: