According to conventional wisdom, 1992’s Batman Returns was a badly flawed film. The existence of 1997’s Batman and Robin meant that it wouldn’t be seen as the worst of the four, but most fans seem to prefer 1989’s Batman and 1995’s Batman Forever.

I offer a distinctly minority opinion that Returns was without a doubt the best of the four films. To be frank, the conventional wisdom that it was terrible has always confused me. Yeah, I guess I understand that folks who thought Batman was too dark would probably feel even more negatively toward Returns, largely due to Danny De Vito's rather grotesque turn as the Penguin.

Of course, one would expect that those people would have avoided Returns in droves; if you hated the first one, why would you see the sequel? That left the folks who enjoyed Batman as the ones who disliked Returns, and I honestly don't understand why. The sequel not only possessed all the positives of the original but also it added much to the equation.

For one, both Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne and director Tim Burton seemed much more self-assured this time. Keaton played the distractedness of Wayne and the intensity of Batman with far greater depth and deftness in the sequel; he appeared much less strained and he was able to make Batman seem better integrated in the film than on the first occasion. This occurred despite the fact that he actually may have received less screen time than in Batman. No, I didn't count the minutes of each film, but he had more competition this time.

That competition came from the fact that Returns offered not one, not two, but three villains played by prominent actors. In addition to Penguin, we got Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Christopher Walken as evil businessman Max Shreck. Man, that was a whole lot of villainy that needed screen time, but Keaton held up well against this onslaught.

Of the baddies, Pfeiffer offered easily the most captivating turn of the bunch. In large parts, her sensational performance made this movie go; all the rest of it worked, but her bits added a necessary spark that took Returns to a much higher level. Pfeiffer so scintillated that rumors of a Catwoman movie circled for a while, but that didn’t happen until 12 years later – and didn’t include Pfeiffer. (And we all know what happened with that dud.)

In a way, Pfeiffer served two roles in Returns; she was a main villain as Catwoman, but she also played Wayne's love interest. To put it mildly, she performed much better in that assignment than did Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale in Batman. While I could barely stand to watch the interactions between Vale and Wayne, the chemistry between Pfeiffer and Keaton sparkled and added much life to the film; I actually wanted to see more of them together in their "everyday" guises, rather than less.

De Vito's fairly disgusting appearance as Penguin remains most people's objection to Returns, but I don't have any problem with his work. He portrayed Penguin in a logical and realistic manner, or at least as logical and realistic as a deformed birdman abandoned by his parents and raised by penguins can be. While he didn't take his role to the level achieved by Pfeiffer, he certainly did well in the part and made Penguin a compelling and effective character.

Worst of the bunch was Walken's Shreck. That was probably more the fault of the script than of the actor. As was the case with Wuhl's reporter Knox in the first film, Shreck played largely an expository role in Returns. He's the boss of Selina Kyle, who he indirectly turned into Catwoman through his violence and he forwarded the evolution of Penguin through his backstage machinations. Walken was okay but his presence seemed to provide one villain too many.

In addition to the improved acting, Burton's apparently greater sense of comfort on the set also made Returns the more effective film. The movie retained the dynamic visual style of the first but it became a much better integrated piece of work. Action scenes flowed smoothly and added excitement largely lost in the first, and the picture simply appeared to be more logical and less stilted than did Batman.

Many critics attacked what they perceived to be the incoherence of Returns’s plot. They claimed that story pieces came and went at will and ideas seemed to disappear at random. They're wrong. Here's their argument in a nutshell: the movie started with a storyline that follows Shreck's pursuance of a new power plant for Gotham. This concept popped up frequently throughout the first half of the film but received nary a mention during the remainder. Critics felt this omission occurred due to sloppy filmmaking.

I disagree. You see, it was made clear that Shreck would have to alter the political power in Gotham if he wanted to build his plant; both Wayne and the current mayor (Michael Murphy) opposed it. As such, he attempted to turn Penguin into the new mayor through various machinations. This didn't succeed, of course, but that aspect of the film neatly accounted for the issue of the power plant; there was no need for Shreck to actually discuss it because the political maneuverings occurred to satisfy that end. By the time Penguin's political aspirations crashed, not much of the film remained so there's no reason to discuss the power plant again; I'm sure it remained on Shreck's mind, but he'd turned into a minor character at that point so the issue became moot.

Actually, the weakest plot point of Returns probably resulted from the motivation of the villains to slay Batman. Basically, the baddies seemed to view him as a thorn in their collective side, but that didn't appear sufficient to infuse them with the great extent of venom they felt toward him. The same was true of Joker in Batman; he seemed mainly jealous of Batman's higher profile, which I found to be a pretty weak reason to make a guy your archenemy. (The film offered hints that he also blamed Batman for his mangled physical appearance, but it didn’t develop those well.) This is quibbling, I know, but the speciousness of the logic slightly irritates me.

Still, I find the numerous positives of Batman Returns to more than make up for any problems. This was a comic book film that got most of it right. It took the best aspects of the first movie and improved upon them. As a whole, Batman Returns is a treat, and I count it among my all-time favorite flicks – comic book or otherwise.

Batman Returns appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. A consistently solid transfer, I found little about which to complain.

From start to finish, sharpness was very good. A few slightly soft shots materialized, but these were minor nuisances at worst. Instead, we got a movie that was crisp and concise. Moiré effects and jagged edges presented no concerns, and I noticed no signs of edge enhancement. Source flaws also created no distractions.

Colors looked terrific. Because it took place at Christmas, Returns boasted a more varied palette than did the first movie, and these tones were rich and distinctive. Black levels appeared deep and dense, and shadow detail seemed to be very strong. Even with the smidgen of occasional softness, this was a terrific presentation worthy of an “A-“.

I also felt pleased with the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio of Returns. Officially, Returns was the first movie to hit screens with a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix; unofficially, 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was the initial DD offering, for it was used as a “test case”. Anyway, the mix for Returns still worked pretty well.

The soundfield appeared nicely broad and engrossing. The forward spectrum dominated the affair, as I heard a lot of well-defined and accurately placed audio throughout the film. Elements panned cleanly across speakers and the entire package blended together neatly.

Surround usage seemed to be fairly active and involving. Music emanated from all five channels, and the rear speakers also added a nice layer of reinforcement to action scenes. Some solid split-surround usage occurred, such as when motorcycles would pan from front to rear. All in all, the soundfield aptly served the film.

Audio quality was good. Dialogue was consistently distinct and accurate, and outside of a few lines from the Penguin, I noticed no edginess. Effects presented positive dynamic range and sounded clear and realistic. Music was nicely dynamic and bold, as Danny Elfman’s score showed the strongest elements of the mix. Overall, dynamics seemed good, with tight, lively bass. The audio for Batman Returns provided a satisfying experience.

How did the picture and audio of this Blu-ray compare to those of the 2005 Special Edition DVD? As usual, the lossless mix offered a bit more depth and punch than its compressed sibling, but I didn’t notice substantial improvements. I thought both tracks worked fine.

While the 2005 DVD looked quite good, the Blu-ray took the visuals to another level. The smattering of print flaws vanished here, and the standard Blu-ray upgrades in tightness and vivacity appeared. Those helped make this the definitive Returns.

The Blu-ray offered the same supplements as the 2005 DVD. We launch with an audio commentary with director Tim Burton. He provides a running, screen-specific chat. Burton follows up his pretty solid Batman track with another mostly nice look at his film.

Actually, I think the Returns commentary improves on the Batman track. Most of the time Burton discusses the actors. We get some casting notes but he usually focuses on how they worked in the roles and what they brought to the parts. He explains why Batman/Bruce Wayne don’t have a lot of screen time in his two movies and digs into actor/character notes well.

In addition, Burton goes over the change of studio location from England to LA and the issues that came along with that as well as the added pressure that went with a sequel to a hit. He also gets into the usual nuts and bolts like stunts, visual effects, music, and script concerns. Burton addresses the complications that came with such a large cast of characters plus some logistical areas.

Every Burton solo commentary suffers from some dead air, and that trend continues here. However, there’s not a lot of it; indeed, he yaks more here than he does during the Batman discussion. Burton fills the vast majority of the piece with solid notes about the movie and his experiences. This adds up to a useful and informative commentary.

Next comes a 21-minute and 50-second program called The Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin. Hosted by Robert Urich, this piece originally aired in 1992 to promote the movie. It offers the standard repertoire of movie clips, behind the scenes elements, and interviews. We hear from Burton, whip trainer Anthony DeLongis, co-costume designer Mary Vogt, costume designer Bob Ringwood, Batman creator Bob Kane, animal trainer Gary Gero, special penguin makeup effects supervisor Stan Winston, production designer Bo Welch, producer Denise Di Novi, and actors Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny De Vito. The show covers facets of the various performances and characters, and elements of the shoot such as managing the real penguins, creating fake penguins, and new sets and toys.

Make no mistake: “Bat” existed to get people to see the movie. Within that genre, though, it’s not bad. Sure, it includes tons of film clips and comes short on insight, but it makes up for these with some nice shots from the set. These glimpses behind the scenes are good enough to make up for the banal nature of so much of the rest of the piece.

A continuation of a series started on the Batman Special Edition, Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 4 lasts 30 minutes and 10 seconds. It includes remarks from Burton, Keaton, Di Novi, De Vito, Pfeiffer, screenwriters Daniel Waters and Sam Hamm, casting director Marion Dougherty, actor Sean Young, producer Mark Canton, co-producer Larry Franco, director of photography Stephan Czapsky, and editor Chris Lebenzon.

The show gets into expanding Batman for the sequel and developing the script and characters, and Burton’s reluctance to do the second film. We learn why Robin remained absent and Burton’s take on Batman as well as bringing back returning actors and casting new ones. We hear about their views of their roles and also go over Sean Young’s disastrous attempt to get the Catwoman role. We find notes about preparation for the flick and the impact of merchandizing, sets and the atmosphere during the shoot, various tales from the production, post-production concerns and reactions to the film.

I loved “Shadows” Parts 1-3 on the Batman release, and that was a tough act to follow. Part 4 lasts less than half as long as that piece, so it comes as no surprise that it’s not as good. This one seems a bit more superficial and doesn’t delve as deeply into the various issues. For instance, why do we get no information about Christopher Walken’s casting?

Relative disappointments aside, this is a pretty solid look at the different subjects. It covers the requisite topics well and offers an entertaining glance at them. I don’t think it investigates the film as richly as I’d like, but I think it works fine overall.

Under the banner of Profile Galleries, we get two collections. “The Heroes” looks at “Batman” and “Alfred”; it goes for six minutes, 55 seconds. “The Villains” examines “Catwoman”, “The Penguin” and “Max Shreck”; it takes up 11 minutes, eight seconds. In these quick features, we get notes from Burton, De Vito, Keaton, Waters, Dougherty, Pfeiffer, Kane, author Kim Newman, Batman: The Animated Series writer/producer Paul Dini, comic artist Alex Ross, DC Comics editorial VP Dan DiDio, actors Michael Gough and Christopher Walken, writer/artist Mike Mignola, filmmaker Kevin Smith, executive producer Michael Uslan, Teen Titans writer Geoff Johns, and Animated Series producer Bruce Timm.

These snippets look at the characters in the comics and delve into aspects of their portrayal in the flick. The pieces tend to be a little scattershot, but they offer quite a few good notes. Happily, the “Batman” entry doesn’t just repeat elements from the same section on the Batman disc; it gets into different sides of things. These are a fun complement to the longer programs and add nice material. I especially like the abandoned story connection between Shreck and Penguin.

In a “documentary gallery” referred to as Beyond Batman, we find six featurettes. If we “Play All”, they fill a total of 65 minutes and 35 seconds. They include “Gotham City Revisited: The Production Design of Batman Returns”, “Sleek, Sexy and Sinister: The Costumes of Batman Returns”, “Making Up the Penguin”, “Assembling the Arctic Army”, “Bats, Mattes and Dark Nights: The Visual Effects of Batman Returns”, and “Inside the Elfman Studios: The Music of Batman Returns”. These include notes from Burton, Di Novi, Welch, Franco, Czapsky, Vogt, Ringwood, De Vito, Keaton, Pfeiffer, Winston, Gero, supervising art director Tom Duffield, costume effects supervisor Vin Burnham, Batsuit sculptor Steve Wang, costume effects Alli Eynon, Batsuit wrangler Day Murch, costume coordinator Randy Gardell, Penguin makeup designers Shane Mahan and Mark “Crash” McCreety, key makeup artist Ve Neill, hair supervisor Yolanda Toussieng, emperor penguin trainer Richard Hill, visual effects supervisor Michael Fink, makeup artist Brian Penikas, Boss Films visual effects supervisor John Bruno, Matte World Digital visual effects supervisor Craig Barron, orchestrator Steve Bartek and composer Danny Elfman.

A listing of topics covered will seem redundant given the titles, but here goes anyway. “Beyond” digs into the movie’s visual elements and redesigns from the first film, sets, costumes, the Penguin’s makeup, issues related to real and fake penguins, various forms of visual effects, and the score.

While “Shadows” left me with some disappointment, no problems emerge during “Beyond”. These featurettes go into the various topics with great detail, as they leave few questions unanswered (other than “what was up with Burton’s ever-present beret?). Instead, they investigate the subjects with candor to become consistently informative and interesting programs.

We finish with a music video for “Face to Face” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. I liked the three Prince videos on the Batman disc because they were untraditional for the genre; they included no shots from the movie. That’s not the case here, but the video manages to integrate the film clips in a fairly seamless manner. It’s not a great song or video, but it’s better than average in both departments.

After 18 years, I continue to love Batman Returns. I think it’s definitely the best of the pre-Christopher Nolan series, and it’s still one of my favorites. The Blu-ray adds excellent picture and audio along with some pretty interesting extras. Even though the 2005 DVD was very satisfying, the Blu-ray improved visual quality enough to make it a worthwhile upgrade.

To rate this film visit the Special Edition review of BATMAN RETURNS