tim burton be in essence an expressionist film maker and disinterested in dimension of character and obsess with gothic scope and opt for style over substance incessantly throughout his career . however and with his style be so poignantly endear and i and like many moviegoer and forgive all the countless flaw that can be find in many of his movie and become engross in what be essentially and one hundred million dollar art film . it almost embarrass for me to see a poetic and emotionally involve spirit within the second installment of a mediocre franchise and especially when that franchise target audience be half witted 15 year old boy . batman return should have be every bit as commercial a it predecessor and ensure box office draw and cheap ( in actual fact and very expensive ) thrill and be entertain without ever truly involve it audience . have this be the result and then tim burton would have surely be require to direct a third installment . instead and burton delivers something that can only truly be define by the phrase and out there . from the melancholy opening in which a high society couple throw a prison like bassinette contain their newly bear deform baby into a river and it be clear that batman return and ain not no picnic at buckingham palace . cut to thirty three year later and during a political speech make by bad guy business tycoon max shreck ( sinisterly portray by christopher walken ) and the red triangle circus gang attack gotham city . batman ( michael keaton return to the role ) make his first appearance sport a new logo and eventually save the day . shreck be soon kidnap by the circus gang and black mail into endorse the political return of the baby and now a fully grown penguin man ( danny devito in hideously perfect make up ) and whose motif for return be suspicious only to batman . meanwhile and shreck attempt to off his nosey and awkward assistant selina kyle ( play perfectly by michelle pfeiffer who quite frankly deserve more recognition for her performance ) who transform into the deliciously sexy and psychotic catwoman and out for revenge and harbour and for some unexplained reason and a deadly vendetta against the dark knight . batman return be bleak . the production design be breathtaking and deliver a cold haunting gotham city with an even more apocalyptic feel than it predecessor . danny elfman score support the film brilliantly and range from invigorate to tragic . the tone and direction of the whole film itself be intensely brooding and shot like a sad nightmare and burton direction overshadow what be in fairness a diabolical screenplay with an almost totally irrelevant plot and yet at the same time perfect for burton visual style of film making . and whilst burton action sequence struggle for exhilaration and the real excitement lie in the directional choice display the fall of each of it main character and the penguin demise and the catwoman mental state and bruce wayne lonely destiny . warner brother hat it whilst critical and audience reaction be mixed . after all and they want a batman sequel and not a weird and somewhat ghastly horror movie and in which a deformed psychopathic orphan attempt to kidnap and drown a batch of baby and all the while vomit what can only be describe a green mucus . the production company want an audience friendly feature and something for the mcdonald clan to promote their happy meal with and not a movie of dire irredeemable character and include a sexually repress secretary who be push from a skyscraper and revive by a gang of cat awaken her from unconsciousness by chew on her bloodied ice cold finger . it easy to understand the mass disappointment that follow the release of batman return . the film never felt like a batman blockbuster . it be questionable if burton really know who batman actually be or even if he care about the character as much a he care about the film fitting in with his usual theme of beautifully haunt art direction and misinterpret and lonely character who rarely conform with society standard and expectation . this be why burton fail to create a great batman film . he do however while create a nostalgic and stunning and ballsy piece of cinema that remain a personal and nostalgic favourite of mine . this may not be a great batman movie . but it be a great tim burton film .