Batman Returns is a veritable classic of the comic book genre, and while it does pale somewhat in comparison to its immediate predecessor - Batman 1989 - it's still a great film.
It's iconic for a whole host of reasons, chief among which sits Michelle Pfeiffer's rendition of Selina Kyle. Stylish, charismatic and devilishly over the top, Pfeiffer's Catwoman stole almost every scene in Burton's Bat-sequel, bouncing off of Michael Keaton's Batman with an unpredictable edge that manifested most iconically during the character's transformation sequence.
Beautifully shot by Stefan Czapsky, the way Pfeiffer manages to convey Selina's transformation from an anxious and frustrated secretary into a sleek and confident crook is remarkable, unleashing years worth of anger into one explosion that propels the character down a path they cannot hope to turn back from.
As far as Batman films go, Returns is definitely one of the darkest. Without the talents of Michelle Pfeiffer however, there's no way it would be as iconic as it is.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
