Sometimes, a little bit of corniness is all you need. And, I can think of no better way to get it than Batman Returns (1992). The second Tim Burton/Michael Keaton Batman movie is goofy in all the best ways. From the fights, to the costumes, to the acting. It’s silly perfection.
In today’s super hero movies, its all about the fight scenes. It’s all about which movie packs the biggest punch. Or the coolest fight. In 1992, at least to Tim Burton, that was not a concern. The fight scenes in this movie are so… bad. But, in a good way. I’m pretty sure in this movie, Batman hardly throws a punch. He usually just throws the bad guy or simply pushes him. It looks terrible. But also, looks so damn charming. I love it. I love the simplicity of it. I love how the stunt actors playing the bad guys over sell it when Batman pushes them. It’s perfect. Another part of the movie that’s terrible in the most charming way, is the costumes.
The costumes in this movie are bad in the same charming way as the fight scenes. I mean, Danny Devito as the Penguin looks so goofy, in his dirty pajamas. But it just adds so much to the movie. Same with the Batman costume, that clearly has no range of motion in the head because he has to turn his whole body to look to the side. Incredible. Perfect. Don’t change a thing. I love it.
Also, the acting is so cheesy, its phenomenal. You can just tell how much fun Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeiffer are having playing the bad guys. They both ham it up as much as possible and its incredible. The disgusting guttural noises Danny Devito makes are fantastic. The wobble he does as he walks is so funny. I mean, just watch this scene of him giving a speech to a bunch of penguins. I think it proves all my points about how wonderfully cheesy and goofy this movie is.
Well, I’ve said my peace. This movie if streaming on HBOMAX if you want to see all the cheesy goodness for yourself.
