The Flash, AKA the end of an era.

It ends here.

Fads come and go. What was once a matter of laughter in the film industry, became the ruling genre, and it ultimately imploded. Questions also came from every corner of the industry: producers, directors, actors, and a toxic, rather questionable fan base. The Flash was originally intended as the next step into Zack Snyder's DCU. Sadly, movies are now treated like products, people no longer root for the artistic elements that make a good movie. Now the world has turned its back to artists, and all it does is deliver headlines based on how much money these films are making or losing. There's also the unwanted comparison "our film is making more money than yours" and a neverending thread of negativity that really makes it seem social networks could be the worst idea of recent years. In  fact, I stopped reviewing films in 2017 (Wonder Woman) only to return briefly in 2020 with WW 84. Superhero exhaustion is real regardless what corporate  patronizing media says.

In the 80s (I was born in 1981) we had very few superhero films. Superman III, Supergirl, Superman IV and Batman. Although The Incredible Hulk TV show lasted until 1982, that's pretty much everything we had available, despite cartoons and older TV shows reruns. So, an 80s kid would get his/her comic book education mostly from actual comic books, and boy were the 80s a nice decade to get that superhero degree. So, I would say there are two kinds of superhero fans now. The casual ones, the ones that watch the movie, or TV show, and obviously the, let's say, dedicated ones. Those who read the comic book, and watch the movie and TV show with their critic eye looking for every similitude with the source material. but wait! there's more! there are fans of the superhero video-games, fans of the collectibles like action figures, wear, and a never ending etc. So how can you please every type of fan? Simple, you can't.

 

Two flashes for the price of one, and a Supergirl.

The reason to watch this film for older fans.

The Flash film is its own version of Flashpoint, or any based upon a multiverse story already told to exhaustion on paper by DC Comics for decades.In a nutshell, Barry Allen discovers by accident that if he goes faster than expected he can time travel. Obviously, any Flash fan at this point knows this can only mean one thing: He's going to prevent his mother's death. Moreover, in doing so, we all know this will have catastrophic consequences for reality as we know it. If you're one of the few unfamiliar with Flash's story, the film will explain it you with the aid of tomato sauce can, and spaghetti cooked by none other than Batman, the dark knight.

Production wise,  the scarlet speedster film faced a neverending season of problems that halted and delayed the project for five years. The internet incels, paid & biased media, made it really difficult for Warner Bros to develop a cohesive and coherent cinematic universe. On the one hand,every film, save for Wonder Woman & Aquaman "performed" really well ,although Wonder Woman's sequel flopped despite being released for free on streaming platforms for the pandemic. On the other hand, Aquaman's sequel has been halted and delayed by Amber Heard's divorce, and the many changes Warner Bros fat executives demanded. So in a strange universal alignment, real life problems seem to have defeated the idea of having a shared multiverse. Oh, I forgot the Shazam movies and the Blue Beetle one coming soon. They're also hot garbage, or at most filler material for something that will never be. Enter James Gunn, the new head of the cinematic reboot he promises will change the tide to smooth sailing. However, his The Suicide Squad film wasn't that much of a success. Perhaps, Peacemaker seemed like an original idea, a one hit wonder, in music terms but nothing worth calling groundbreaking.

 

Iris West and her unfinished arc.

His face relates to our experience as fans.

Anyway, going back to The Flash, the film would originally  Superman & Aquaman, and perhaps other Justice League members but nope. Henry Cavil was fired years ago, and despite all the love he gets on the internet, not even The Rock and his Black Adam cameo could save him. Moreover, Warner Bros, and James Gunn just didn't care at what millions of fans were asking for years on the internet. True, we got the Zack Snyder 4 hour cut of the Justice League Warner execs spent years saying it didn't exist. Oh, also that canceled Batgirl film. Not to mention Ezra Miller's legal problems which led a lot of people into boycotting this film.

At this point, we realize we're focusing on corporate business territory we shouldn't give a crap about. Sadly, this is how both social and official media work these days. We are told to celebrate those who get richer, and laugh at those who don't. So where is the art in that? Where are those cinema fans looking for a soul changing experience? Well, they're probably busy buying stuff they don't need.

The batmobile rides again (not)

A nice Supergirl with no future.

So in a world where everything is based on algorithms that will offer customized ads to maintain your brain busy consuming and avoiding at all costs thinking, how hard can it be for another superhero film to make sense? While The Flash flopped in theaters, it's actually doing pretty well on streaming and on-demand services. 

Useless business talk aside, The Flash offers an entertaining story that is outdone by what was happening outside in the real world. Going to the movies knowing this is a standalone project with no future led a lot of people into not buying the movie tickets. How can you root for characters that will never return? For example, Supergirl. Sasha Calle's version of Kara Zor-El while brief, leaves a mark, and a lot of people would have loved to see more of her. Same with Michael Keaton's return as Batman. Fans of his movies were thrilled when the official announcement was made, but nope, no more movies for him too. Moreover, Ben Affleck's Batman also shows up for one final adventure, and I know many people liked his take on the caped crusader. While comparisons are a bitch, the other film example I can think is Rogue One. A film that is completely wasted by the fact everyone knew every main character would die at the end. Bad idea! The viewer needs to establish an emotional interest in character development. If you already know what's coming you simply lose interest. I for one, think The Flash is a good movie, but it could have been larger than life had it not being devoured by behind the scenes trouble.

As above mentioned, time travel changes everything for Barry Allen. The first big change, is he meets a younger version of himself, and this is the best part of the movie. The way Ezra Miller is capable of portraying two very different versions of himself, proves he can act. Sadly, there won't be any more movies to see how much farther he could have expanded the fastest man alive story. 

Zod returns, and where is Superman?

Batfleck's final adventure.

Another interesting occurrence in The Flash is how much they reused from Man Of Steel to tell the main story. But, didn't people hate Man Of Steel? Why choose this particular film to be the setting of the story? I don't think I have an answer for that. Henry Cavil is nowhere to be found in the film, yet we get all his foes back searching for him, while they conveniently adjust the story to offer us Supergirl instead. 

 

Early on the movie also offers the last Justice League moment from the DCU. Batman, The Flash and Wonder Woman. I have to admit I jumped in happiness when she showed up! Gal Gadot did a wonderful job! I do hope she gets a chance to complete her trilogy of films. I mean, James Gunn gave Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn a chance, why stop there? Heads up! there is a rumor that James Gunn, Peter Safran, and Gal Gadot herself are working in Wonder Woman 3 as I'm posting this review.

 

Here to do a man's job.

The lasso of truth delivers the best joke.

 

Plot wise, Barry Allen discovers the mess he caused, so in teaching his younger version how to become The Flash, he loses his powers, which leads to laughter as the inexperienced young Barry attempts to master his powers as fast as he can. Of course, in this new reality there is no Superman, no Justice League, so while the original Barry knows there is no way he can defeat General Zod, because... he was there! In a cleverly placed sequence, we discover he was testing his powers with a proto-suit while Earth was invaded by Kal-El's not so friendly long lost relatives. So with no powers, and a younger version of himself, all they can do is hope The Batman still exists, which to our 40 year old happiness, it actually does! Bruce Wayne, The Batman returns from self-imposed exile, and it's none other than Michael Keaton himself. Tim Burton's Batman is back for one final adventure.

 

The batmobile, the batwing, the batcave and even a collection of bat-suits all return to the big screen bringing mostalgia to its peak once we hear him say "Yes, I'm Batman". However, he'll only help them find this Superman and then hit the sack. The white whale proves to be well guarded by mad scientists and a legion of soldiers. Obviously, Batman is a one man army, so with his aid, our two Barry Allens discover the shocking truth: There is no Superman! only a mysterious female prisoner that goes by the Kara Zor-El name. Phew! We're saved! As soon as she gets some vitamin D, she's ready to wear the red S suit and cape to take down the bad guys and see if she can find his long lost cousin.

 

Just in case, a few extra bat-suits.

 

 

Moving forward is the only way.

 

The concept of time travel in the movie offers one valuable life lesson. What if all the bad stuff in our lives was necessary to make us the people we are today? The question is not only raised by Ben Affleck's Batman, but also by many other characters throughout the film. Changing the past, or erasing it to save the pain, will not always be the best solution to our problems. Moreover, the original Barry realizes some things are impossible to fix, and all he's got left is learning how to come to terms with it.

 

Even though the movie features a lot of DC comics characters, make no mistake, this is a Flash film, he is the main character. His personal drama goes back and forth until he realizes what he really needs to do. The loss of his mother in the hands of a mysterious murderer (we know from comic books it is Reverse Flash,but not here, we're neither told, not shown), and how his father is unfairly sent to jail because of it, play an important part in the film.  

 

Some of the CGI from the movie.

 

Visual effects, or CGI has been one of the most criticized aspects from the film. Although director Andy Muschietti said: “We are in the perspective of The Flash. Everything is distorted in terms of lights and textures. We enter this ‘waterworld’, which is basically being in Barry’s POV.

“It was part of the design so if it looks a little weird to you that was intended,” he added.

All in all, The Flash doesn't win the superhero race, regardless of how fast he can go. The Marvel Cinematic Universe did it first, despite the fact we all know DC Comics came first with many of the most innovative stories and characters in the industry.  People talk about superhero fatigue, and I agree. It's time for the industry to push other kinds of TV Shows and films. We need more variety urgently.

Spider-Man Homecoming

Lame.

Superhero films are getting more and more retarded with time, and when some decide to make serious driven films, fanboys bash them like there's no tomorrow. I still think Batman V Superman was an excellent film, an got even better with the extended edition. In addition, Suicide Squad took all the tricks Marvel's been praised for and again, shot to pieces.

 

Marvel's first Spider-Man movie is exclusively for kids & teens despite it has a few moments for adults, though it can sour upon further reflection.

Let's start with the good stuff. Tom Holland is probably the best Spider-Man yet. His best friend provides great comic relief and the two have terrific chemistry. Marisa Tomei adds a breathe of fresh air to the role of Aunt May. Michael Keaton provides Marvel with its first memorable villain in a while (and perhaps the only characters we grown ups can relate to, and Aunt May of course). The action scenes flow smoothly, and the humor mostly works (again, this is a teen movie).

Those are the things that stand out after immediately leaving the theater, and for that reason it gets "meets the standards" marks in my book. 

 

Superhero by night.

Boring breakfast club parody by day.

But the adult in me started thinking about what I just watched, and there's some stuff that bugs me. The following contains minor spoilers.

"With great power comes great responsibility" is the famous line from the first Spider-Man, which neatly summarizes the core theme of the film, and Peter Parker's internal conflict with being Spider-Man.

This film also has a one-liner like that, spoken to Peter by Tony Stark: "If you're nothing without this suit, you don't deserve to wear it." Which sounds like a god awful nod the shitty Iron Man 3 film that ended the solo career of the metal-asshole man. And it's actually quite illustrative of what's wrong with this film.

The fist Spider-Man movie in 2002 emphasized taking responsibility for your actions. The amount of responsibility this Spider-Man takes for his actions is, well, none. A list of the damage this "friendly neighborhood" Spider-Man directly/indirectly inflicts includes: - Swinging through a neighborhood destroying roofs, fences, tree houses, etc. - Blowing up a bodega - Setting a bomb off in the Washington Monument nearly killing all his friends - Blowing up a boat, nearly drowning everyone on board - Nearly crashing a plane into a city.

 

One of the two good things about the film.

and the other pair of good things about this flick.

Now it's not like Spider-Man is trying to stop some ticking time bomb or rescue a loved one from imminent death, and all these destructive acts are the consequence. No, he's simply chasing down thieves, led by The Vulture.

However, Peter Parker's recklessness eventually forces Tony Stark to take back the advanced suit, delivering the impactful line. And yet, Peter Parker dons his homemade Spider-Man costume a couple scenes later when he learns the Vulture has another heist planned, which results in the aforementioned plane scene.  

 

But Tony isn't mad about that one, cause Spider-Man got the bad guy this time. Ends justify the means I guess. I don't want to extrapolate without ruining the whole movie, but suffice to say, it's inexplicable that Tony is okay with Peter's actions, especially considering the events of the Civil War movie.

Thus thematically, there really is no arch. Peter doesn't learn about taking responsibility for his actions - he simply accomplishes a task without wearing the high tech suit Tony gave him. Peter's only real lesson in the movie is that he'd rather be a regular kid than an Avenger. 

Badass suit.

Badass entry. (stolen from Batman Begins)

In addition, how did he get his powers?, how does he train? how come he has no Spider fucking sense! that power is key to the character and instead all we get is an insecure kid looking for a father figure in an asshole that has caused the most disastrous problems in the MCU! God! I do hope Iron Man gets killed in the final installment of the Avengers films, I just can't stand how they try to make a complete asshat look cool just because he's rich and magically smart.

 

I know the Spider-Man origin story has been retold twice already, Once successfully in 2002, and one disgraceful in 2012 but yet what I feared in the trailers became the ultimate truth: out of complete desperation, producers forced Tony Stark's way into what could have been a truly refreshing debut film for the greatest Marvel Comics character there has ever been, and all we get is a big fucking yawn!

Before the Tony Stark scholarship.

After the Tony Stark scholarship.

And then there's the nitpicking.

Let's start with Flash Gordon, the classic "cool jock" who's a major asshole and bullies Peter throughout high school.

Well now he's not a jock at all. He's a "nerd" (in fact, literally every high school character in this film falls into the modern day millennial "nerd" category) who is still a major asshole and bullies Peter. He calls him "Penis Parker" and, well, that's about it. His character's sole purpose seems to be to remind the audience "hey, bullies can be smart academically- minded kids too!" Um, okay. Someone let me know if you know a kid on the Science Debate Team who leads chants of "Penis" as he DJs a house party to mock a classmate. I'm genuinely curious.

Then there's the girl Peter likes, who mostly ignores him but is on the same trivia team as Peter (Flash is also on this team, as is every other student you meet). Peter ditches her all the time, but for some reason he musters the courage to ask her out, and inexplicably she says yes. 

 

Don't mess with me kid!

Don't mess with him kid!

There's another girl named Michelle who's the resident loner (again, on the trivia team) who refuses to tour the Washington Monument in order to remind the audience that slaves built it. However, this completely contradicts with the "Make America Great Again!" sticker on her backpack.

That's a joke.

 

Overall, a popcorn movie. The trailers where pretty much the whole story and there really isn't anything likeable about Peter Parker's new friends. The teenager he plays is clearly on fast forward, up to a point where he's unbearable. I can clearly tell, producers wanted the Ultimate Spider-Man (from the animation) turned into a live action character. They failed, and so they have been failing since Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. The Captain America films are the only ones worth watching, the MCU is dead as fuck.

Here's the movie trailer collection featuring the best moments of a film that could have been great:

Batman Returns

Christmas nights will neve be the same in Gotham City.

A couple of years ago (I think) I did a review about Batman Returns, but it wasn't really that good, so I'm giving this great film the review it deserves for good. After the huge Batmania the first Tim Burton entry in the world of the Dark Knight had, it was only natural that Warner Bros. gave Burton the chance of expanding the DC Comics character universe, a universe that soon became Burton's own Batman universe. 

Back in the early 80's the original Batman movie project had a lot to do with the 60's Batman TV show. Producers wanted to update the original series into a movie featuring The Penguin, Catwoman, Two Face and almost every rogue Batman had to deal with, but as Tim Burton got into the project he turned the original idea into shreds and gave us the Batman of a lifetime. However, when Batman Returns came out, critics from all over the world weren't that pleasant anymore. There were purists, and there were Burton fans, and Batman Returns kind of became their battlefield for nonsense idiotic discussions.

Gotta go to work.

I'm really going to try hard not to praise this movie as the ultimate masterpiece my inner self think it is. I've long thought it was my favorite of the four 90's Batman movies (and maybe I even like it more than the Christopher Nolan Batfilms). However, I'm quite aware that Batman Returns has more to do with Tim Burton's own take on the character rather than, being a respectful film that stays true to the comic book. This movie, is Tim Burton's Batman, definitely. However, the sequels Batman Forever & Batman & Robin weren't really that bad, I mean, at least you could have fun with them as they sort of took the character back into the 60's vintage mood Batman had on TV. Of course, Joel Schumacher is quite a different film maker. I believe he's got a pop art vision on his mind all the time, while Tim Burton is always looking for the opposite: darkness within.

The antagonists steal the show.

Even though there are a lot of small flaws in the last aproach Burton had on the DC Comics legendary character, Batman Returns is still a great film, especially if you're a Burton fan, as Batman Returns has just as much in common with The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) as it does with anything else in the Batman universe.

The film begins strongly, with the Cobblepots having a baby. We see their dismay--people walk out of the birthing room with horror on their faces, ready to vomit. Later, they have the baby in a small cage. Finally they take it out for an evening stroll and dump it in the Gotham City River. The baby ends up becoming Batman classic villain The Penguin (played as if it was written for Danny DeVito himself).

Meanwhile, Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) is the film's "evil capitalist", comparable to Grissom (Jack Palance) in Batman. He is planning on duping Gotham City in various ways, and we see him emotionally abusing his secretary, the timid Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer). When Kyle discovers one of the nefarious plots, Grissom tries to get rid of her, but she is rescued by cats, becoming Catwoman. It is important to say that most of the comic book films based upon Batman, do hold strong criticism towards the way our society constantly behaves. Max Shreck does exist in our dayliving, and plots like becoming a monopoly and exploiting your workers are nothing but the ugly truth, a thing to keep in mind my friends.

Why doesn't Bill Gates become Batman in real life?

While all of this is going on, The Penguin, who has long been only rumored to exist and who is thought to be dangerous, begins a scheme to be presented to the public as a good guy, despite having less than benevolent, ulterior motives...

Before re-watching Burton's Batman films this time, I didn't remember just how little the films are about Batman (Michael Keaton). It's almost as if Burton didn't feel the character was interesting enough to focus on. The focus here is much more on the villains, especially The Penguin. Batman doesn't appear very often, especially in the beginning of the film, and surprisingly often, we're watching him watching The Penguin.

Although some viewers necessarily count the above as a flaw, I can't say that I do, even if I'd like to know more about Batman and follow his story more. The villains' stories are interesting, too, and as an "origin story" for two major Batman villains, Batman Returns is already more than complex in terms of plot.

However, there are some character problems that I do count as a flaw. The Penguin has a cadre of circus performers who do his bidding, but even though they're frequently on screen, we never get to learn anything about them. Burton has a core of very interesting characters that could have had a deeper meaning through the film but it just seems, Burton didn't have enough time to use them more properly.

I'm Catwoman, hear me roar!

For that matter, he hardly has space to explore Catwoman. The film plays as if Catwoman may have been as developed and featured in as many scenes as The Penguin, but that cut of the film would have been 4 hours long. So the bulk of the Catwoman scenes had to be excised. Of course, all of this barely leaves any room for Batman. Burton has Batman turn very dark in the public's eye in this film, and unusually, he never bothers to resolve this. As far as we know, at the end, Gothamites still think that Batman is a murdering lunatic. That's an interesting development, but unfortunately it ended up being dropped between this film and the next. 

As for the script, although there are minor problems including some non-sequiturs and bizarre decisions (in terms of logic) made by characters, it's clear that Burton and writers Sam Hamm and Daniel Waters are not exactly trying to tell a traditional story. A lot of the dialogue is pun-oriented, but often this is fairly subtle and/or complex (of course, sometimes it is very blatant or transparent, too). It helps to look at Batman Returns as a more "poetic" film, as I believe was the intention. This also carries over into more general plot and directorial decisions--plenty of odd character actions, including from minor characters, are done in service of a general mood or style, and that style works very well.

The Grand batmobile is back!

If you were to look for a word to define Batman Returns mood, then definitely "Dark" is the easiest way to sum up Batman Returns in a word, and whether that's a positive or negative depends on your disposition. Anyone who knows me knows that I love dark. So for me, Burton's style largely transcends the flaws in the plot and the script. In many ways, Batman Returns is like an insane, campy horror film, with beautifully eerie production design. Like Batman, Burton is still making many references to other films, but instead of Vertigo (1958) and Star Wars (1977) (well, there's still a slight Star Wars reference), he invokes films like Nosferatu (1922) (including that "Max Schreck" was the name of the actor who played the Dracula-like character there), Motel Hell (1980), the aforementioned Freaks, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) (which has a surreal, dark edge to it) and zombie films--made most explicit in The Penguin's final scene.

Here's the movie trailer:

And as I wrote above in the first paragraph, this time I'm giving you the review Batman Returns  deserve, I'll give you some tasty bonuses.

The first bonus is a 9 minutes walkthrough of the original NES Batman Returns game (which I was luck enough to get it by 1992's Christmas) The game was awesome, you could really feel like Batman when fighting goons to make your way to defeat Catwoman and the Penguin. Graphics and music were amazing considering the limits a Nes technology could deliver.

The second bonus is perhaps, the greatest videogame ever made about our dark crusader. Batman Returns, Super Nes edition. The guys in Konami made the ultimate beat 'em up. The game has everything! from astonishing graphics, to kickass action and pretty cool background music too. Fortunately, if you got rid of your Nes and SNes you can still get a kick playing this games through amazing emulators, available everywhere through the internet.

But, what about some fun facts about the production of Batman Returns? well, here's a list of official information gathered from several places:


After the success of Batman, Warner Bros. was hoping for a sequel to start filming in May 1990 at Pinewood Studios. They spent $250,000 storing the sets from the first film. Tim Burton had mixed emotions from the previous film. "I will return if the sequel offers something new and exciting," he said in 1989. "Otherwise it's a most-dumbfounded idea." Burton decided to direct Edward Scissorhands for 20th Century Fox. Meanwhile, Sam Hamm from the previous film delivered the first two drafts of the script, while Bob Kane was brought back as a creative consultant. Hamm's script had Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure.


Burton was impressed with Daniel Waters' work on Heathers; Burton originally brought Waters aboard on a sequel to Beetlejuice. Warner Bros. then granted Burton a large amount of creative control, demoting producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber to executive producers. Dissatisfied with the Hamm script, Burton commissioned a rewrite from Waters. Waters "came up with a social satire that had an evil mogul backing a bid for the Mayor's office by the Penguin," Waters reported. "I wanted to show that the true villains of our world don't necessarily wear costumes." The plot device of Penguin running for Mayor came from the 1960s TV series episodes "Hizzoner the Penguin" and "Dizzoner the Penguin". Waters wrote a total of five drafts.

I'm not afraid of any bird or cat. I like dogs though.

On the characterization of Catwoman, Waters explained "Sam Hamm went back to the way comic books in general treat women, like fetishy sexual fantasy. I wanted to start off just at the lowest point in society, a very beaten down secretary." Harvey Dent appeared in early drafts of the script, but was deleted. Waters quoted, "Sam Hamm definitely planned that. I flirted with it, having Harvey start to come back and have one scene of him where he flips a coin and it's the good side of the coin, deciding not to do anything, so you had to wait for the next movie." In early scripts Max Shreck was the "golden boy" of the Cobblepot family, whereas Penguin was the deformed outsider. It turned out that Shreck would be the Penguin's long-lost brother. Max Shreck was also a reference to actor Max Schreck, known for his role as Count Orlok in Nosferatu.


Burton hired Wesley Strick to do an uncredited rewrite. Strick recalled, "When I was hired to write Batman Returns (Batman II at the time), the big problem of the script was Penguin's lack of a 'master plan'." Warner Bros. presented Strick with warming or freezing Gotham City (later to be used in Batman & Robin). Strick gained inspiration from a Moses parallel that had Penguin killing the firstborn sons of Gotham. A similar notion was used when the Penguin's parents threw him into a river as a baby. Robin appeared in the script, but was deleted due to too many characters. Waters feels Robin is "the most worthless character in the world, especially with [Batman as] the loner of loners." Robin started out as a juvenile gang leader, who becomes an ally to Batman. Robin was later changed to a black teenager who's also a garage mechanic. Waters explained, "He's wearing this old-fashioned garage mechanic uniform and it has an 'R' on it. He drives the Batmobile, which I notice they used in the third film!" Marlon Wayans was cast, and signed for a sequel. Wayans had attended a wardrobe fitting, but it was decided to save the character for a third installment.

My pussy wants some milk.

Michael Keaton returned after a significant increase in his salary at $10 million. Annette Bening was cast as Catwoman after Burton saw her performance in The Grifters, but dropped out due to pregnancy. Raquel Welch, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lena Olin, Ellen Barkin, Cher, Bridget Fonda, Madonna and Susan Sarandon were then in competition for the role. Sean Young, who was originally cast as Vicki Vale in the first film, believed the role should have gone to her. Young visited production offices dressed in a homemade Catwoman costume, demanding an audition. Geena Davis and Brooke Shields were each offered the role of Catwoman, but both of them turned it down. Burton was unfamiliar with Michelle Pfeiffer's work, but was convinced to cast her after one meeting.. Pfeiffer received a $3 million salary ($2 million more than Bening) and a percentage of the box office. Pfeiffer took kickboxing lessons for the role. Kathy Long served as Pfeiffer's body double. On Danny DeVito's casting, Waters explained, "I kind of knew that DeVito was going to play The Penguin. We didn't really officially cast it, but for a short nasty little guy, it's a short list. I ended up writing the character for Danny DeVito." Names thrown out who were considered to play The Penguin include Marlon Brando, John Candy, Dustin Hoffman, Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd.


Marlon Wayans was signed on to play Robin in this movie and Batman Forever - he even went through costuming for the five minutes that he appeared in the script. But when the script was re-written and Joel Schumacher took over as director, the role went to Chris O'Donnell. Wayans was paid for both movies.

Want more? Well, here's the original Catwoman transformation scene, which featured an extended Selina Kyle's parents message:

And last but, not least, "The Bat, The Cat & The Penguin" a 9 minute making off:

Ok, ok, I'll give you one last cup of tea, the ultimate Batman Returns making off:

And here is part II:

Batman

This is Batman kids.

After the film producers (finally) decided that it was about time to give Superman a rest from the big screen frenzy, making comic book movies was kind of forgotten and as usual, the producers moved into the next big exploitation gem hype could afford them. However, the Superman franchise proved one thing: making comic book movies is a very profitable business if done properly. So, instead of locking down every comic book related business the movie industry could have, they actually thought new boundaries would open to avid audiences, ergo, the corporate film making industry bastards would get richer & richer. Only this time, they wouldn't make the same mistakes they made with the Superman franchise (you know, not being  closed to the original comic book conceptions, and altering such a legendary character to the point of WTF)

How about this nice wallpaper?

Batman next to his father: Bob Kane.

The batcave.

Bob Kane was perhaps, one of the greatest comic book masterminds we've ever have since the liars that wrote the bible and made us swallow it whole as if it was a real story. Mr. Kane gave birth to the greatest hero DC Comics would ever had: Batman, a tormented soul who's ultimate mission is to protect the innocents from Gotham City from the evil scumbags that stormed Gotham citizens' rooms. Bruce Wayne is just a man, his only extraordinaire ability is his intelligence and physical training. Warner Brothers decided then, to hire Bob Kane as the consultant executive for the production of the first big screen Batman movie. Fortunately, they didn't settle with Kane alone. They looked for the proper film maker to make a comic book about a serious character, whose darker side was the most appealing among comic fans from around the globe. Tim Burton, yes, Tim Burton.

Blonde twat fatale Vicky Vale goes Gotham hunting.

The greatest Joker impersonation there has ever been.

Michael Gough,  my favorite Alfred Pennyworth.

If you were around in summer 1989 then you'll remember that Bat-fever was everywhere! You couldn't look anywhere without seeing the Bat Logo in some incarnation. The film was a mega-hit. People were queueing up around the block for hours (Educational note: the literal meaning of a blockbuster). 

The marketing team at Warner had to saturate the minds of the public with the big-screen coming of the Dark Knight. Up until this point the Batman series from the 1960s is how people regarded the Batman character and universe. Tim Burton corrected all that by giving us a dark, sinister and Gothic world with rich production design and a great score by Danny Elfman (who has made a career out of recycling the same old generic cues in nearly every movie he has scored). The original material is respected (to a degree), and the characters are deep instead of just campy.

What do you mean you made me?

Michael Keaton is the best Bruce Wayne in my opinion. When he plays both Bruce Wayne and Batman you have to watch what he doesn't say and doesn't do. He's a rich, socio-phobic megalomaniac who has more money than sense. This is very different from Adam West's turtleneck playboy.

Jack Nicholson is a great Joker too, not quite as intimidating or as iconic as Heath Ledger's take on the character (we love dead guys, don't we?), but still a role that has defined his career in a way. Nicholson's Joker isn't much more than an attention-seeking lunatic. But it's still nothing like Caesar Romero's campy, hopping-skipping-and-jumping villain.

Joker Dollars.

Maybe you could drive my car.

Anton Furst's Oscar-winning design of Gotham City is very original and unique, and is very much in the style of the Comic book. The smoke-blackened, cramped and claustrophobic 1920s buildings look and create a very oppressive atmosphere. This is definitely GOTHam City. Not LA like the TV series.

They didn't even make any attempt with that show did they? In fact the Batcave in the TV series was like the set of a mad scientists lab from a 1950s movie. But the REAL Batcave in this movie is a monstrous cavern filled with stalagmites and it actually HAS bats in it. And there's no fireman's pole leading into it. 

Tim Burton shows the way.

Kim Basinger shows the way (to her bush)

With Christopher Nolan's reboot of the franchise currently the only Batman worth considering for most fans, it'd be a shame if you were to let this go ignored. It may not be as mature as Nolan's work but it has an edge that no other recent comic-book movie has.

It's NOT an origin story. There's no 60 precious minutes on a build-up, it just goes straight to the action. Why can't more comic-book movies do this?

Here's the movie trailer and may Batman live long and prosper: