How does Batman ’89 compare to Batman Returns?

Credit: Warner Bros. Studios

Tone

Batman’s tone toes the line between dark and ridiculous. As a result, one doesn’t really know how to take the movie. Certain elements of the plot aren’t funny under any circumstances; the flashback to the night Bruce lost his parents always tugs at the heartstrings. But then there’s the Joker, who laughs the entire time he’s electrifying someone to a charbroiled crisp. The Clown Prince of Crime also gasses a museum full of people, but enters the main floor by dancing to Prince. At times, Burton also tries to tell a heartfelt love story, but then Vicki makes a sexual innuendo about Bruce’s “big bank roll.” It seems like Burton didn’t quite know what he wanted Batman to be.

In Batman Returns, he fully embraces the (sometimes) absurd nature of the Dark Knight. He characterizes Oswald Cobblepot as a cross between a man and a penguin. Of course, there’s the aforementioned scene with Selina and the cats. Consider the scenes where Penguin drives a motorized giant rubber duck. Toss in the blatant sexual innuendo and comical exchanges between Bruce and Selina, and you have all the makings of a cheesy, action movie that happens to have some romance, too.