Is Michael Keaton My New Favorite Batman?! *BATMAN RETURNS* First Time Watching!

This is Kacee's first time watching reaction to the movie "Batman Returns (1992)". The monstrous Penguin (Danny DeVito), who lives in the sewers beneath Gotham, joins up with wicked shock-headed businessman Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) to topple the Batman (Michael Keaton) once and for all. But when Shreck's timid assistant, Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer), finds out, and Shreck tries to kill her, she is transformed into the sexy Catwoman. She teams up with the Penguin and Shreck to destroy Batman, but sparks fly unexpectedly when she confronts the caped crusader.

00:00 Intro
00:27 Reaction
34:59 Review

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Intro/Outro Song: Always Dreaming - Same Town Forever
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[DosCavazos]

*I have been struggling to get this one up all day because of copyright and ended up having to do some extra editing to finally be able to post it!*

[DosCavazos]

I can say for sure that Michelle Pfeiffer is definitely my favorite Catwoman. 😏🐈 -Kacee

[christhornycroft]

Michael Keaton is awesome. He was a stand up comedian and his hiring for the role was very controversial. But I think he’s the best Batman. His performance as Bruce Wayne is believable. He’s not overdoing it to try to cover for himself. There’s a bit of a sarcastic tone to him, but he doesn’t overcompensate. As Batman, he looks awesome and doesn’t have that weird voice Christian Bale had. Dark Knight is still my favourite Batman movie, but Keaton got the performance spot on for me. This movie was so dark that it caused Tim Burton to be fired from the director’s chair, and Joel Schumacher took over, with diminishing results. Batman Forever did well despite the campy silliness, but Batman and Robin was so bad it ended superhero movies for about 5 or 6 years.

[cruesome]

The Catwoman from the 60s was Julie Newmar, then Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt.

Michelle is probably my favorite Catwoman, but Anne Hathaway filled out that outfit pretty damn well. 🤔

[ryanadams]

I was a kid when Michael Keaton’s Batman came out, and it’s what got me into this culture—so I may be heavily biased. And while I would never dream of telling you how to live your life…

Yes. Yes, he’s your favorite Batman.

[AgedBacon]

You'll notice that at the party, Selina and Bruce are the only people not wearing masks. To show that Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are their masks, and their real personality are Batman and Catwoman.

[skepticcritic]

Great reaction! Batman Returns was my introduction to the caped crusader!

FUN FACT: During one scene,  Michelle Pfeiffer had to put a live bird in her mouth. They had bird puppets on-set, but Pfeiffer thought they all looked too fake.

Also.. For the role of Catwoman,  Michelle Pfeiffer trained at the Steeleboxer kick boxing gym two hours a day for six months. She also practiced yoga, weight lifting and karate. Additionally she spent three months training with a 12-foot bullwhip. Pfeiffer called that one of her most "challenging roles" and critics called it one of her most "iconic roles" that is famous forever.

Sources found on IMDB.

[GregOrCreg]

I appreciate how much sympathy you felt for The Penguin. You rightly understand that he's a product of his tragic backstory.

[CrownlessKing]

I LOVE the touch that both Bruce and Selina were the only ones at the masquerade party not wearing masks. When normally they do wear masks.

[One.Zero.One]

Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer’s acting is so underrated in this movie. It has a theater style quality to it which fit the Tim Burton style so perfectly.

[blotcho]

I loved Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer's chemistry, they were SO good together!

[ChristopherPayneMUA]

The last glimpse of Catwoman at the end originally wasn't going to be there, but the studio mandated that they make it clear she had survived for potential sequels. They used a body double in the costume to film that last bit, apparently it was a pretty expensive last-minute addition.

[rusenakman]

This movie is the reason Bat & Cat ship cemented on me. I don't care much about all other versions, I want to see them together. Maybe that's why I love Gotham more than I shoıld be LOL

[Polymathically]

I was lucky enough to watch all of the 90s Batman movies in the theaters, and Batman Returns is my favorite one. Not only was it more ambitious and violent than the previous one, but the actors brought their best to it. Michelle Pfeiffer is a huge Catwoman fan, and was clearly having the time of her life here. She got the role after Annette Bening dropped out due to being pregnant, and she ended up stealing the entire movie. 10:48 The "Hell Here" scene was such a great and chilling way to introduce her new persona. The scene where Catwoman flawlessly whipped the heads off the mannequins was done in one take by Pfieffer herself; you can find the production footage if you search for it. 18:00 She really did put a live bird in her mouth during that meeting with The Penguin. 26:57 The scene where Selina and Bruce figure out each other's identities is so compelling; they're the only ones not wearing masks, and Pfieffer does a great job as portraying someone barely holding onto her sanity.

31:28 Her bitter rejection of Bruce is such an interesting scene as well; Bruce willingly revealed his identity and risked everything, but she wanted to live - and potentially die - on her own vengeful terms. The final shot of her (actually another actor serving as Pfeiffer's body double) rising to look at the Batsignal was a last minute decision by the studio. The original ending left her fate more ambiguous, but the studio didn't want the movie to have such a bleak ending, and they wanted the possibility of Catwoman showing up in later movies. This one scene apparently cost $250K to film, but it ended up being one of the most iconic moments in the franchise.

Danny DeVito acted his heart out as The Penguin; he took what could have been a silly concept and turned it into something far more monstrous, grotesque, and tragic. 32:53 His final stand is one of my favorite scenes in any of the Batman movies. The Penguin rising out of the water, toxic waste pouring out of him, the slow walk to the umbrellas, and Batman turning around to face him as the music swells will be forever burned into my memory. It's a dying villain, fueled by rage, making one last, failed stand. They don't make movies like this anymore.

[CaptainAmercia]

That's something I love about Burtons Batman films they embrace the crazy elements along with the wacky side of Gotham not scared of going all in on the gothic retro timeless art direction something Gotham City has kind of lost in the past few years even in the comics. We went from this to the more tame Nolan films with Begins being pretty good depiction of Gotham but Dark Knight and Rises basically looked like Chicago or New York, Gotham lost it's identity. Then we got the Arkham Games which looked amazing pulling from all the Batman films and media but mostly the Batman Animated Series. DCEU Gotham looked pretty basic, not that different visually to Metropolis which is a big problem. Joker looked like 1970s early 1980s New York but the time period carried the look of that film and finally The Batman finally went back to that Gothic look and feel of Gotham City being filmed in Older cities like Liverpool and Glasgow, places with Gothic architecture. So thankfully we've returned to a Gotham City that's not shared to stand out from your typical American city.

Keaton's Batman actually gets carried on in the Batman 89 comics which follows the narrative for the third Burton Batman film that was never made. It's focused around Billy Dee Williams as Two Face and introduces Robin along with Catwoman playing a part. The next two films by Joel Schumacher were seen as the same continuity in the eyes of WB but most fans see those as being set in there own continuity beyond the Burton films, Batman 89 comics also pretend that the Joel movies never happened.

The Joel Schumacher also have a very different depiction for Gotham City going for a more Dark Deco Neon Gotham City, most likely inspired by the Batman Animated Series 1930s Dark Deco look and feel but less dark and moody and more colourful pulling from the 1960s Batman TV show. So the overall tone is very different but I personally still love Batman Forever.

I think Joel Schumacher would've suited a Superman film more as his depiction of Metropolis would've fit the city of Metropolis just make it brighter and embrace Art Deco and the retro futuristic 1950s feel. Could easily see a Metropolis like this co existing with Burtons Gotham City. So yeah all these films nail the production design even if they go a little too far in stuff like Batman & Robin I do really like how they embraced Gotham City as a fictional place rather than do what Nolan did and try and make the city as generic as possible like seen in Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises.

[WastedPo]

This is one of Danny Elfman's most gorgeous scores. I particularly love "Selina Transforms" and "Death of a Penguin."

Oddly, this movie also led to a dispute between Danny Elfman and director Tim Burton. (I think maybe Elfman was displeased with the way his score was mixed.) The rift was so bad that for Burton's next movie (Ed Wood), Burton asked someone else to write the score (Howard Shore), breaking his longtime collaborative relationship with Elfman. They thankfully made up, and collaborated again on Burton's next movie, "Mars Attacks."

[orlandoruizjr]

Michelle Pfeiffer is still the best Catwoman to me. She was really using that whip in those scenes, and that was an actual real bird that was in her mouth that flew out. Loved your reaction.

[toodlescae]

There were 3 actresses that played Catwoman in the 60's. Julie Newmar was the first. She was replaced by Lee Merriweather who was then replaced by Eartha Kitt.

[seasickviking]

Halle Berry's Catwoman is the only version of Catwoman that has superhuman powers. Every other version is just a thief with gear, which is why she's always such a good foil for Batman.

[zachbocchino]

Fun fact: Paul Reuben, who plays Penguins father in this movie. Also plays Oswalds father in the Gotham Series.