Is Batman Returns darker than Batman89?

[Marx]

I tend to agree. It has "campy" moments but it's definitely not a "campy" movie.

 

[Batman Beyond]

The last thing BR is, its campy. Do you people even realize what camp actually is?

The film does have silly moments. Undeniably silly, particularly the entire Penguins-On-March section. But the film is also laced with a satirical tone (not more evidenced than the "tomatoes and vegetables" comment), which aids those silly moments (OK, maybe not the penguin march...).

And yes, BR is the darkest Batman film - not only darker than B89, but arguably darker than TDK (if only so slightly). As others have stated, B89 is crime noir, but BR's goth, coupled with the imagery, and overall tone, help make this one of the darkest blockbusters that have ever been unveiled at summertime.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

I dunno if I'm missing the meaning of the word camp, but I'd call Batman Returns campy. That's not a bad thing though. It's more of a Robocop dark satirical camp than it is the airheaded bubblegum camp of the Schumacher movies.

 

[Batman Beyond]

Robocop is not camp. Its satirical, which is on the other spectrum. Batman '66 is camp, and thats undisputed.

 

[LegendAssemble]

The last thing BR is, its campy. Do you people even realize what camp actually is?

The film does have silly moments. Undeniably silly, particularly the entire Penguins-On-March section. But the film is also laced with a satirical tone (not more evidenced than the "tomatoes and vegetables" comment), which aids those silly moments (OK, maybe not the penguin march...).

And yes, BR is the darkest Batman film - not only darker than B89, but arguably darker than TDK (if only so slightly). As others have stated, B89 is crime noir, but BR's goth, coupled with the imagery, and overall tone, help make this one of the darkest blockbusters that have ever been unveiled at summertime.

I really don't think so. I don't think The Dark Knight is really that dark either, its serious and serious things happen, but that doesnt make it dark. The difference between BR and B89 is B89 is a Batman movie that takes place in a highly stylized world, but with studio input and control, BR is a straight Tim Burtonized Batman film.