Batman Returns
And why? In a word ...
Catwoman.
She was visually, very exciting, and emotionally, very moving. Her costume is brilliant and beautiful - a work of art. How she's introduced is completely memorable and it's cute, actually, how Penguin and Batman sort of "compete" for her, right away. Her rooftop encounters with The Dark Knight are utterly fantastic. "How could you? ... I'm a woman!" Haha ... Then under the mistletoe, where she declares Batman to be her "catnip" ... and as they fight over the Ice Princess, "hey, stud - I thought we had something!" The playfulness, the sexiness, the element of danger about her was so right.
Selena Kyle had some wonderful moments as well. Important moments for the character and the movie series. The Masquerade Ball, is a good case-in-point. Everything about it is right on the money. From when Bruce first lays eyes on her coming down the stairwell, to the painful realization that she doesn't know who she is anymore ... this character has layer upon layer, upon layer. You can't help but fall in love with her. Even when Bruce pleads with her to come live with him, her response is compelling and complex.
While Max Shreck and Oswald Cobblepot have their moments, and some memorable one-liners, now and again, it's just not enough, for some reason. The Penguin's so vile and revolting, that his being so desperate for sex plays brilliantly against Catwoman's attractiveness and only amplifies how alluring she is. Max, unfortunately, is fairly one-note with his abuse of power, in all areas, that despite being portrayed by none other than Christopher Walken, he's easily overshadowed, in Batman Returns. Oddly enough, there's a good chunk of the movie that's dominated by these two and Catwoman is nowhere to be found, until her climactic moment. I never understood that and thought it hurt the film.
Despite this, Selena Kyle/Catwoman did a lot to expose to the audience the vulnerability and sadness of Batman, Penguin and herself, especially. "The Holiday Blues" surrounding the Christmas Season for these characters is prevalent and most appropriate. What amazes me about that, though, is how, after everything's said, done and finished, Bruce discovers the joy of the holiday, thanks to Selena's love. It's a great love story! As I understand it, Tim Burton felt very distant from this production and may not have actually directed most of it, himself, because of what he was going through, at the time. But Batman Returns still managed to come together and make a statement that even the latest version of Batman - and Catwoman - has yet to match.
And why? In a word ...
Catwoman.
She was visually, very exciting, and emotionally, very moving. Her costume is brilliant and beautiful - a work of art. How she's introduced is completely memorable and it's cute, actually, how Penguin and Batman sort of "compete" for her, right away. Her rooftop encounters with The Dark Knight are utterly fantastic. "How could you? ... I'm a woman!" Haha ... Then under the mistletoe, where she declares Batman to be her "catnip" ... and as they fight over the Ice Princess, "hey, stud - I thought we had something!" The playfulness, the sexiness, the element of danger about her was so right.
Selena Kyle had some wonderful moments as well. Important moments for the character and the movie series. The Masquerade Ball, is a good case-in-point. Everything about it is right on the money. From when Bruce first lays eyes on her coming down the stairwell, to the painful realization that she doesn't know who she is anymore ... this character has layer upon layer, upon layer. You can't help but fall in love with her. Even when Bruce pleads with her to come live with him, her response is compelling and complex.
While Max Shreck and Oswald Cobblepot have their moments, and some memorable one-liners, now and again, it's just not enough, for some reason. The Penguin's so vile and revolting, that his being so desperate for sex plays brilliantly against Catwoman's attractiveness and only amplifies how alluring she is. Max, unfortunately, is fairly one-note with his abuse of power, in all areas, that despite being portrayed by none other than Christopher Walken, he's easily overshadowed, in Batman Returns. Oddly enough, there's a good chunk of the movie that's dominated by these two and Catwoman is nowhere to be found, until her climactic moment. I never understood that and thought it hurt the film.
Despite this, Selena Kyle/Catwoman did a lot to expose to the audience the vulnerability and sadness of Batman, Penguin and herself, especially. "The Holiday Blues" surrounding the Christmas Season for these characters is prevalent and most appropriate. What amazes me about that, though, is how, after everything's said, done and finished, Bruce discovers the joy of the holiday, thanks to Selena's love. It's a great love story! As I understand it, Tim Burton felt very distant from this production and may not have actually directed most of it, himself, because of what he was going through, at the time. But Batman Returns still managed to come together and make a statement that even the latest version of Batman - and Catwoman - has yet to match.