Homer J. Fong
Not a golem
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2008
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23. Dressing Up; Auto Disrepair
(Running time: 1:13:03 1:17:52)
The Rundown
After Batman is linked to the capture of the Ice Princess, Bruce and Selina take their very different approaches to getting into character and racing to GothamPlaza; Batman tries to free the Ice Princess, but is intercepted by Catwoman, while some of The Penguins henchman tinker with the Batmobile.
The Review
I guess I tend to forget about how much light comedy there is in Batman Returns. I love The Penguin presenting Max with Freds old severed hand, I love Penguin biting Joshs nose off, and all the other instances of morbid humor, but theres a lot of lighter comedy too, and its successful. This scene begins with out-and-out farce: Bruce and Selina hurrying out but trying to make sure it doesnt look like theyre hurrying out, each counting on Alfred to provide the other with a good excuse, and then the contrast of Bruce meticulously putting on the Batsuit while Selina messily sorts out her Catsuit. The way Bruce selects just the right suit from the rack of identical versions, the way he oh-so-neatly picks up his boots, the way he walks out in uniform and poses for the camera yeah, its silly, but its played up for the comic, contrast effect. I said that its not a clean superhero/secret identity kind of divide for either Bruce or Selina, but he has a bit more psychological control than she does; thats not to say that he doesnt have any more trouble reconciling those two truths, but he at least has a routine, where Selina is an utter mess.
These Gotham Plaza scenes the next 10+ minutes of screentime do a very good job of constantly pulling the rug out from the viewer, starting you on one path and then swerving onto another, saying, Hey, catch up, were going this way now. The Batmobiles shields go up here are the goons to mess with it. Batman unties the Ice Princess heres Catwoman to take her away. Batman tries to save the Princess The Penguin hurls a lawn dart. Batmans shot and knocked down theres Catwoman to pin him down. Penguin and Catwoman toast their victory Penguin decides he doesnt like her anymore and sends her flying. Theres actually some terrific serial-style adventure within these scenes alone.
The Rest
-Gotham and its ineffectual Mayors. We generally dont want to see a full-blown corrupt Mayor, because the story already has its crime boss villain or its supervillain or both. And we generally dont want to see a fine, upstanding leader, because that makes Batman, Gordon, or any sidekicks that may be involved less necessary. What we generally want to see in a Batman story is a Gotham Mayor who can talk the talk, but really has no clue how to walk the walk. If Superman is about saying, You can be better, the world can be better, Batman is about saying, Maybe the world can be better, but it is a war just to keep things as they are now. Whatever Michael Murphys Mayor says, yes, GothamCity is beleaguered, and thats not changing anytime soon.
-Eat floor. High fiber. Im cringing just typing it.
(Running time: 1:13:03 1:17:52)
The Rundown
After Batman is linked to the capture of the Ice Princess, Bruce and Selina take their very different approaches to getting into character and racing to GothamPlaza; Batman tries to free the Ice Princess, but is intercepted by Catwoman, while some of The Penguins henchman tinker with the Batmobile.
The Review
I guess I tend to forget about how much light comedy there is in Batman Returns. I love The Penguin presenting Max with Freds old severed hand, I love Penguin biting Joshs nose off, and all the other instances of morbid humor, but theres a lot of lighter comedy too, and its successful. This scene begins with out-and-out farce: Bruce and Selina hurrying out but trying to make sure it doesnt look like theyre hurrying out, each counting on Alfred to provide the other with a good excuse, and then the contrast of Bruce meticulously putting on the Batsuit while Selina messily sorts out her Catsuit. The way Bruce selects just the right suit from the rack of identical versions, the way he oh-so-neatly picks up his boots, the way he walks out in uniform and poses for the camera yeah, its silly, but its played up for the comic, contrast effect. I said that its not a clean superhero/secret identity kind of divide for either Bruce or Selina, but he has a bit more psychological control than she does; thats not to say that he doesnt have any more trouble reconciling those two truths, but he at least has a routine, where Selina is an utter mess.
These Gotham Plaza scenes the next 10+ minutes of screentime do a very good job of constantly pulling the rug out from the viewer, starting you on one path and then swerving onto another, saying, Hey, catch up, were going this way now. The Batmobiles shields go up here are the goons to mess with it. Batman unties the Ice Princess heres Catwoman to take her away. Batman tries to save the Princess The Penguin hurls a lawn dart. Batmans shot and knocked down theres Catwoman to pin him down. Penguin and Catwoman toast their victory Penguin decides he doesnt like her anymore and sends her flying. Theres actually some terrific serial-style adventure within these scenes alone.
The Rest
-Gotham and its ineffectual Mayors. We generally dont want to see a full-blown corrupt Mayor, because the story already has its crime boss villain or its supervillain or both. And we generally dont want to see a fine, upstanding leader, because that makes Batman, Gordon, or any sidekicks that may be involved less necessary. What we generally want to see in a Batman story is a Gotham Mayor who can talk the talk, but really has no clue how to walk the walk. If Superman is about saying, You can be better, the world can be better, Batman is about saying, Maybe the world can be better, but it is a war just to keep things as they are now. Whatever Michael Murphys Mayor says, yes, GothamCity is beleaguered, and thats not changing anytime soon.
-Eat floor. High fiber. Im cringing just typing it.