20 Things You Somehow Missed In Batman Returns

It is a common problem shared by many (if not all) of the original Warner Brothers quadrilogy of Batman films but, even though Batman features in the title and in each film of the franchise, he is often not the focal point of each film.

This started to become very apparent in Batman Returns, when so many supporting characters were introduced, including two leading villains, as opposed to the original film’s sole costumed villain.

The franchise would accentuate this problem as it continued (as, to a certain degree, Catwoman plays various different roles in Batman Returns and not always as a villain), but Batman unfortunately began to move more and more into the shadows as a character in this film. After all, his parents’ murder had been resolved as a plot point in the first film and the emotional focus of this film was in the joint relationships between Batman/Bruce Wayne and Catwoman/Selina Kyle.

Michael Keaton himself admitted that he had reservations in returning to the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne as he felt that there was little that he could offer creatively and he was concerned about merely mimicking his performance from the first film.

It is a shame in a way, because he seems much more normal (bearing in mind that we are talking about a man who dresses up as a bat) and at ease with himself as a person in this film. He just seems to get lost in the maze that is Gotham City.