--- title: "Batman Returns" year: 1992 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/batman-returns" fi1m_id: "batman-returns" imdb_id: "tt0103776" tmdb_id: 364 wikidata_id: "Q189054" fi1m_score: 81 critics_score: 58 critics_reviews: 8 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:08.244647+00:00" region: "IL" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Batman Returns (1992) Directed by Tim Burton · 2h 06m · Action, Fantasy ## Identity Batman Returns - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/batman-returns - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** batman-returns - **IMDb ID:** tt0103776 - **TMDB ID:** 364 - **Wikidata ID:** Q189054 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103776/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/364, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189054 **Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 58 from 8 reviews *In a sentence:* Someone should tell Batman that Michelle Pfeiffer has taken over his film > Tim Burton’s *Batman Returns* is darkly funny, extravagantly designed and well worth its untidy plotting. Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito give its villains enough personality to make Batman’s occasional retreat from centre stage seem sensible. ## Synopsis Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) faces the Penguin (Danny DeVito) as Batman, while Selina (Michelle Pfeiffer) becomes Catwoman. The hero’s encounters with his adversaries share the story with the lives of the villains themselves. Christopher Walken plays Shreck, Michael Gough plays Alfred and Pat Hingle plays Commissioner Gordon, with Michael Murphy as the Mayor. Tim Burton directs this action fantasy, written by Daniel Waters from a story by Waters and Sam Hamm. The cast also includes Cristi Conaway as the Ice Princess. ## Review Tim Burton seems much more interested in the people Batman fights than in Batman, and *Batman Returns* is better for it. This is a richly peculiar fantasy with a muddled action plot, worth seeing for the attention it gives its damaged, ridiculous adversaries. The villains get enough time for their behaviour to matter beyond whatever trouble they cause. We would happily put up with a few detours to spend more time with Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. Pfeiffer plays Selina and Catwoman as though both deserve our full attention, rather than treating one as the necessary introduction to the other. Her aggression is funny because she gives it such relish, yet the performance never settles into a single seductive pose. We laughed at Catwoman’s ferocity, then felt protective of Selina; Pfeiffer makes that change of feeling seem entirely reasonable. She gives the film someone whose behaviour can surprise us, and Burton is wise enough to let her interrupt its heavy moods. Danny DeVito’s Penguin is more abrasive company, and rightly so. DeVito makes the character’s unpleasantness entertaining without asking us to overlook it, and Burton’s interest in an outsider does not require us to find him agreeable. Michael Keaton’s Batman can seem underemployed beside these performances, although his reserve is useful when everyone else is playing so broadly. Christopher Walken’s Shreck adds another competing presence; the crowded cast helps explain why Bruce Wayne sometimes feels like a supporting character in his own story. Production designer Bo Welch gives the film a city so elaborately conceived that it can compete with any of the actors. Stefan Czapsky’s cinematography makes those spaces feel enclosed, reinforcing the sense that these characters have nowhere comfortable to go. The visual excess works because the people belong in it: a plainer setting would make their extravagance harder to accept. Still, the oppressive scale can become tiring, particularly when Burton wants an action sequence to be exciting simply because there is so much to look at. The cutting by Bob Badami and Chris Lebenzon cannot disguise how awkwardly the separate stories fit together. Individual confrontations hold our attention, but the reasons for moving between them are not always persuasive, and more activity does not reliably produce more urgency. Danny Elfman’s music suits the film’s theatrical temperament, though it sometimes makes an already heavy scene heavier. Daniel Waters’s screenplay is much better at giving the villains personality than at organising the business that brings them into conflict. The consensus is considerably cooler than we are, with objections to the confused storytelling and the shortage of emotional involvement. We agree about the storytelling; we think the charge of emotional emptiness misses how much Pfeiffer and DeVito make us care about people who are difficult company. Burton allows their strangeness to remain strange, without making either performance a joke at the character’s expense. That matters in a superhero film, where an adversary can so easily become a costume awaiting a fight. At 126 minutes, it has room for these performances and rather more commotion than they need. We would lose some of the action before cutting into the time spent with Selina or the Penguin. A superhero film can survive its hero being overshadowed when the competition is this interesting. Just do not choose it for an orderly evening of crime-fighting. *Fi1m score 81, published 13 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews split evenly between enthusiasm and rejection, with Tim Burton’s visual imagination and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman attracting the broadest praise. Admirers find a distinctive, darkly playful Gotham, where the villains’ histories and personalities give the film much of its interest. Pfeiffer’s humour and force register even with critics who dislike the film around her. Danny DeVito’s Penguin also draws praise from supporters for strengthening Burton’s interest in outsiders. The disagreement centres on whether that atmosphere sustains a satisfying film. Supporters find wit and invention; detractors describe confusing plotting, shallow characters and elaborate set pieces that become tiring. The Los Angeles Times praises Pfeiffer’s stylish, funny performance but finds Burton’s brooding approach claustrophobic and cheerless. The spread is wide rather than cautiously mixed: the same emphasis on grotesque characters and visual invention strikes some critics as personal filmmaking and others as insufficient compensation for an uninvolving story. ## Straight answers **Is Batman Returns worth watching?** *Batman Returns* is worth watching, and we scored it 81, for anyone who wants a darkly funny fantasy with more interest in its villains than its hero. Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman and Danny DeVito's Penguin are the reason to see it. The action plot is muddled, so do not choose it for an orderly evening of crime-fighting. **How long is Batman Returns, and what is it rated?** *Batman Returns* runs 2h 06m. It is an action and fantasy film. **Where can I watch Batman Returns in Israel?** *Batman Returns* is not on any streaming or rental service in Israel at the moment. It is available in 41 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Batman Returns, and is it suitable for children?** *Batman Returns* carries a UK 12 certificate, and its villains are unpleasant enough that younger children may find it disturbing rather than exciting. DeVito's Penguin is abrasive by design, Pfeiffer's Catwoman is fierce, and Burton's enclosed, oppressive city adds to the heavy mood. Teenagers comfortable with grotesque fantasy should be fine; the squeamish will not enjoy the Penguin's company. **How does Batman Returns compare to Batman?** *Batman Returns* is the stranger and funnier of Tim Burton's two Batman films, and we think it the better one, though its plotting is untidier. The earlier film is anchored by Michael Keaton's troubled stillness and Jack Nicholson's noise; the sequel hands the film to Pfeiffer and DeVito and lets Batman recede. Choose [*Batman*](https://film.one/film/batman) for a hero, *Batman Returns* for villains. **Do you need to have seen the other Batman films before Batman Returns?** *Batman Returns* stands alone well enough for a newcomer, since the pleasure lies in the Penguin and Catwoman rather than in any story carried over. Bruce Wayne is a supporting character in his own film, so little prior knowledge is needed to follow him. Start here if the villains appeal to you more than the hero does. **What should I watch after Batman Returns?** After *Batman Returns*, try [*Edward Scissorhands*](https://film.one/film/edward-scissorhands) (1990, Fi1m 83): Another lonely outsider struggles with affection in an elaborately artificial setting. Then [*Phantom of the Paradise*](https://film.one/film/phantom-of-the-paradise) (1974, Fi1m 82): Grotesque theatricality, wounded outsiders and a wicked sense of humour; and [*Dark City*](https://film.one/film/dark-city) (1998, Fi1m 76): An oppressive invented city gives another solitary hero more than crime to consider. **What order should I watch the Batman films in?** Release order is the safe choice for Batman, and it is the order [our collection page](https://film.one/collections/batman) lists them in. *Batman Returns* is number 2 of the 7 Batman titles on Fi1m; before it comes [*Batman*](https://film.one/film/batman) and after it [*Batman Forever*](https://film.one/film/batman-forever). [The full order.](https://film.one/collections/batman.md) ### Reviews we read (8) - **Empire**, Phil Thomas (80/100, inferred): The critic lauds Burton for delivering another intensely personal and visionary film that captures a unique twisted atmosphere in Gotham. They single out Danny DeVito's Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman for strong performances that enhance the dark, outsider-focused tone. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/batman-returns-review/) - **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (80/100, inferred): The critic finds Burton has re-invented the mood of the first film to make this one sprightly and droll rather than dour. The villains' colorful backstories and psyches are singled out as especially memorable. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/19/movies/review-film-batman-returns-a-sincere-bat-a-sexy-cat-and-a-bad-bird.html) - **The New Yorker**, Terrence Rafferty (75/100, inferred): The film reliably continues the series with playful novelty and reassuring familiarity, proving Burton can keep it going. Michelle Pfeiffer's ferociously sexy and funny Catwoman performance is singled out as the glory of the movie. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/06/29/family-values) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (40/100, inferred): Burton's morose, claustrophobic vision makes for a cheerless, brooding film that strangles enjoyment despite visual invention. Michelle Pfeiffer's stylish, funny dual performance as Selina Kyle and Catwoman is the one bright spot praised. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-19-ca-418-story.html) - **The Guardian**, Derek Malcolm (40/100, inferred): The critic views the film as overly extravagant and lacking coherence, buried in hype and failing to live up to Tim Burton's potential. The elaborate Gotham City design and special effects are noted, but characters remain uninvolving and the plot confusing. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,558610,00.html) - **Time Out**, GA (40/100, inferred): The critic finds Batman Returns bigger, louder and more action-packed than its predecessor but criticizes its lack of coherent story and unintelligible dialogue. Impressive set pieces become wearisome, leaving only shallow characters and effects for those seeking more. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/batman-returns) - **The Independent** (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film shallow and self-defeating despite its visual brilliance, arguing that its brooding hero and lack of emotional depth or story make it unengaging. They single out Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman as the most impactful and fun performance amid otherwise monotonous characters. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-rubber-soul-plastic-passion-tim-burton-s-batman-returns-reviewed-the-rest-of-the-week-s-new-releases-clocking-the-last-detail-1532287.html) - **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (9/10): The critic calls the film the pinnacle of the superhero genre thanks to its unique vision and vibrant execution. Danny DeVito and especially Michelle Pfeiffer are singled out for their unforgettable, definitive performances as the Penguin and Catwoman. [Read](https://collider.com/batman-returns-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Tim Burton - **Director:** Tim Burton - **Screenplay:** Daniel Waters - **Story:** Daniel Waters, Sam Hamm - **Cinematography:** Stefan Czapsky - **Editor:** Bob Badami, Chris Lebenzon - **Music:** Danny Elfman - **Production design:** Bo Welch - **Costume design:** Mary E. Vogt, Bob Ringwood - **Producer:** Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi - **Cast:** Michael Keaton as Batman / Bruce Wayne; Danny DeVito as Penguin; Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman / Selina; Christopher Walken as Max Shreck; Michael Gough as Alfred; Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon; Michael Murphy as Mayor; Cristi Conaway as Ice Princess - **Runtime:** 2h 06m - **First release (the US):** 16 June 1992 - **Genres:** Action, Fantasy - **Part of:** [Batman](https://film.one/collections/batman.md) · 2 of 7 - **Budget:** $80 million - **Box office:** $280 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlbtLfWvFbo ## Where to watch in Israel Not streaming, renting or buying in Israel at the last check. Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, ID, IE, IN, IS, IT, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1993: Best Makeup and Hairstyling (nominated); Best Visual Effects (nominated) - MTV Movie Award for Best Villain 1993: MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Edward Scissorhands* (1990), Fi1m 83: Another lonely outsider struggles with affection in an elaborately artificial setting. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/edward-scissorhands.md) - *Beauty and the Beast* (1946): A frightening appearance complicates a romance, with the fantasy taken seriously. - *Phantom of the Paradise* (1974), Fi1m 82: Grotesque theatricality, wounded outsiders and a wicked sense of humour. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/phantom-of-the-paradise.md) - *Dark City* (1998), Fi1m 76: An oppressive invented city gives another solitary hero more than crime to consider. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dark-city.md) - *The Shape of Water* (2017), Fi1m 83: An outsider romance that finds tenderness without making its monster ordinary. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-shape-of-water.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/batman-returns