Cue badass theme music by Danny Elfman...

After 3 years, Batman's back with a darker atmosphere and more villains to fight. Drawback? Well, it's a little bit weirder. So this one begins showing The Penguin's rich asshole parents upset that he's well, weird looking and ate their cat so they did the only sensible thing they could come up and threw him into a stream that took him into the sewers. Now it's modern day, the mayor is shaking hands with an asshole business man played by Christopher Walken and Gotham City comes attack under the circus from Hell. No, none of that's a joke, it's exactly how the movie begins. Batman arrives, beats people up and is thanked by the police. Walken gets taken to see the Penguin and is blackmailed into helping out the leader of circus hoodlums played by Danny Devito.

"Yes, I know I'm gross and being a dick blackmailing you, but I just want to know who my parents were... Don't you believe me?"
-The Penguin

We then see Walken push his secretary out a window and she goes crazy and become Catwoman. From there, it's mostly a team up just to get Batman to look like a villain and get him outta the way (Which of course, doesn't work that well), Penguin's goal to become mayor fails (which was actually Walken's plan), he gets pissy and decides to steal all the children but our caped crusader gets in his batboat to hunt down the cold blooded fiend and do him in just like old mister J from the first film... Okay, that last sentence just came out weird...

"And he calls ME crazy?! Well I'm off to lick myself clean and stick live canaries in my mouth..."
-Catwoman

Is it as great as the first Batman film? Eh, I would say no but it's still pretty enjoyable. If they just made it to be Catwoman, Batman, and Walken it might've worked better but having Penguiin and the evil circus act in there just felt like too much. Instead it was almost like Tim Burton tried too hard to make it dark and creepy which works... But it just doesn't balance out or seem as enjoyable as the last film. That said I still give Batman Returns 4 out of 5 psychotic hot babes dressing up and kicking ass. Besides which, only Michael Keaton can make Batman smile and still look scary.

"American Psycho as Batman? I'm creepy without having to crappily growl and act mean! I'm coming for you, Bale..."
-Michael Keaton