BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: "Funny, Wild, Imaginative. A Visual Marvel!"

FILM REVIEW: I'm of two minds on this film. On the one hand, this is a visually rich, dramatically inventive, character driven piece that works well if it were not a Batman film but rather a "Tim Burton" film. On the other hand, this is supposed to be a Batman film and whatever the powers that be decided to let Burton cut loose with "his vision" of the project, we end up with a film that is fascinating but ultimately is not a Batman film and will disappoint on that level. Having said that, I still find this film an achievement and could arguably be said is the best Tim Burton film of his career.

This time around, Batman is facing both the Penguin (played with enthusiasm by Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (played equally well by Michelle Pfieffer). They both team-up to take out their separate agendas out on Batman who is there to stop them. This is probably the only superhero film where the idea of having two villains in the piece works because although the Penguin is your straight-down-the-line bad guy, the Catwoman manages to blur the lines between good and bad so you don't really know where she'll end up. Having that contrast works to the fim's advantage, however, it does sacrifice Bruce Wayne's character again. It may just be that Burton isn't interested in Bruce Wayne but given that the film is supposed to be anchored around his character and Batman, you'd think he would have spent the time fleshing that character out more. But alas, we don't get that.

The Penguin is an astonishingly original take on the character and this is primarily where you see Burton's influence as an artist step in. He's not the quirky guy with the top hat you remember from the television show, or even the comics for that matter. He's a misunderstood, but deeply malevolent and evil person who is set to take out his revenge on the citizens of Gotham. Burton's influence is especially felt by having the Penguin born as some kind of deformed baby who ultimately has a physical resemblance to a penguin. This is over the top but in the way this film is delivered, it suits the piece. A lot of the darker elements of the film stem directly from his character and at some points can be truly frightening.

Catwoman on the other hand is much more in line with what we've come to expect, albeit a lot tougher and being the ultimate feminist. She's very cool and slick, played with a certain empathy by Pfieffer. She has a rather dynamic love-hate relationship with Batman, and as a result, she's not really an out-and-out villain (something she has always been, even in the television show). This contrast makes for an interesting by-play with both Batman and the Penguin as her loyalties manage to swing from one to the other during the course of the film.

Visually, this film looks more like a comic book than it's predecessor, although it would have been nice to see more colour. Burton likes to work with a muted palette in this film, setting the story at Christmas in winter. There's lots of white, black and grey but not much else. That said, the film is incredibly striking and is worth watching from a visual standpoint. On the flip side, there isn't much in the way of plot in this film, at least not like the first film. The set pieces and story points seem anchored around Burton's desire to put some very vivid images and totally original characters on the screen. It works and it doesn't. For me, I really liked a lot of what I saw in this film, but you have to put aside the fact that it's a Batman film because at the end of the day, it really isn't.

This is an oddly entertaining film, and probably the best of Burton's career, but beware, it's very dark and it's not a very strong 'Batman' film.

EXTRAS REVIEW: After the DVD of the first film contained so many documentaries and featurettes, I looked forward to seeing more for the "Batman Returns" disc; it's not as extensive as the "Batman" DVD but we do get an interesting documentary about the making of the film, featurettes on specific aspects of the production, a music video and a 30 minute television special which must have premiered back before the film was released in order to promote the film. There's also another commentary by director Tim Burton.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection, but only get it on sale.