I'm going to a Q&A with Batman producer Michael Ulsan later this week, and with TDKR approaching I figured I'd do my heavy Batman theorizing again...

Batman

A surprisingly deep film that is unfortunately too tied to its commercial overtones. Much like an opposite reflection of the original Superman, this first film works by bringing the character's world into a hybrid of the era's mindset. Add in a murky depth behind these characters and you have a great experience that will give a few nuggets of bonus material if you pay enough close attention. Perhaps the reason why I've watched this so many times.

3.5 balls out of 4 pale moonlights.

Batman Returns

Hands down the best live-action Batman film by any conceivable notion, and Burton's most and possibly only fully-realized film. Why you may ask? Because this Batman is not about the trappings, but moreover the human condition itself. You don't marvel at the large cityscape of Gotham, as a much smaller and better realized version serves as strongly. You marvel at the characters and their issues and their psychological complexities. There is an emotional and human context that has never been seen before or since in the cinematic Batman mythos that Burton delves gleefully into and we fall under it's spell under the guise of our comic heroes.

Oh, and did I mention the snow? Oh, God this is a beautiful movie to look at. And that moment in the ending when Elfman's score goes a bit Herrmann-esque with Keaton finding the black cat on Christmas? When has there ever been such a deep moment in Batman? Answer: Never again.

4 balls out of 4 beautifully shaped Keaton eyebrows.