On Prime Video: Tim Burton’s Best Thriller Is a Gothic Holiday Surprise – “One of my favorite Christmas movies”
Chad Collins
|
One of the best gothic superhero thrillers of all time is currently streaming on Prime Video. While superhero films have never been strangers to genre-tinged elements—check out Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 or his Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness if you don’t believe me—it’s never had quite the same kitschy punch it did all the way back in 1992. I’m talking, of course, about Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, one of the greatest Batman movies ever. If you’ve been living in strict Michelle Pfeiffer isolation, you can check out a trailer and synopsis below:
Per Prime Video: When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Cat woman has her own agenda.
Batman Returns would mark director Tim Burton’s final go-round with the caped crusader. The film’s financial failings would see Joel Schumacher replace Burton as director for the sequel, Batman Forever. Star Michael Keaton, reportedly unhappy with Forever’s creative direction, opted not to return. Two years later, Keaton replacement Val Kilmer would similarly decline to reprise his role, leading to the infamous George Clooney iteration in Batman & Robin, a movie that’s very important to a lot of people for reasons I won’t disclose here (it’s Chris O’Donnell).
Batman Returns is the high mark in last century’s series of adaptations. It’s a movie dripping with Burton’s trademark Gothicism and camp, rounded out by a committed cast that, for the last time that decade, seems genuinely thrilled to be there.
Now that it’s streaming on Prime Video, fans have been eagerly revisiting the cult classic. Check out what they’ve had to say below:
You heard it here first. It’s officially Batman Returns season.
What do you think? Do you plan on checking out Batman Returns on Prime Video? What other unconventional gems do you commemorate the season with? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
Categorized:News
