John Scalzi Fresno Bee Jun 9, 2026 2.5/4

The film is a relentless downer.

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 22, 2025 3/4

Retains the original’s dark currents while adding some colorful new characters.

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Mary Kassel Screen Rant Sep 1, 2025 7/10

Tim Burton's seminal Batman sequel, Batman Returns, is as campy and over-the-top as you remember, but this makes it surprisingly refreshing.

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Noah Gittell Washington City Paper Dec 9, 2024

Batman Returns transcends its genre and shines its Bat-Signal on our foibles and neuroses, conveying a collective humanity with neither heroism nor villainy, just a long, slow trip into the dark.

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Joshua Stevens Loud and Clear Reviews Aug 3, 2024 4/5

Ah, remember when superhero movies used to be weird? [...] Returns on its own is a fascinating beast, a movie following iconic characters that have been interpreted and reinterpreted throughout the years. Yet, it’s a movie only Burton could have made.

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James Berardinelli ReelViews Apr 12, 2024 3/4

Although Batman Returns is tonally lighter than its predecessor, the film nevertheless exists in the shadows. It’s also weirder, an indication of Burton exerting stronger creative control.

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Chase Hutchinson Collider Jun 17, 2023 A

More than the character or the love people have for him, it is about the unique vision that it fully executes. Batman Returns is a Burton movie just as much as it is one about The Caped Crusader.

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Cassondra Feltus Black Girl Nerds Dec 16, 2022 3.5/5

'Batman Returns' is undeniably a Christmas movie. With the Scrooge-like Max Shreck and a sewer-dwelling penguin person, the Gotham created by Burton and co. is cartoonishly bleak.

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Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault Aug 31, 2022 A

As always, the story is a clothesline for grand, lavish images. The surprise here is that they’re darker, more painfully felt.

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Stephen Silver Tilt Magazine Jun 21, 2022 4/5

I always considered it "dark," but compared to takes on Batman brought out in the subsequent years by the likes of Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, and Matt Reeves, Burton’s version was practically sunshine and comedy. (30th anniversrary)

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Kent Garrison Mad About Movies Podcast Jun 9, 2022 A-

The grotesque style of Burton + DeVito's 100% commitment to the Penguin make me not able to look away.

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Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast Dec 21, 2021 5/5

Dark, demented and deviant, we're unlikely to see a superhero film like Batman Returns ever again. It's wonderful.

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Stephanie Rosenfeld Bitch Media Dec 17, 2020

The ending does not disappoint.

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Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Sep 9, 2020 6/10

Both Catwoman and the Penguin are unique, formidable, brilliantly costumed, and perfectly ghoulish.

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Josh Wilding ComicBookMovie.com Jun 28, 2020 5/5

Tim Burton's Batman Returns is a masterpiece, and the tour de force performances from the trio of Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny DeVito are nothing short of iconic.

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Drew Dietsch FANDOM Jun 27, 2020

[Batman Returns] is a blood-red wine that has only gotten better with age.

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Joe Lipsett Bloody Disgusting Feb 22, 2020

...my biggest criticism of Batman Returns: its overstuffed narrative. Whether you see Catwoman as a villain or an antiheroine, there's a lot of moving parts in this movie and sometimes it seems like no one gets quite the attention that they deserve

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Sarah Musnicky Nightmarish Conjurings Sep 30, 2019

None have captured the feeling of Bruce Wayne's duality more, in my opinion, than Tim Burton's BATMAN RETURNS.

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Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Jun 7, 2019 4/5

Batman Returns doesn't quite outdo its predecessor even though the film has perfect casting with Danny DeVito as the Penguin.

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PJ Nabarro Patrick Nabarro May 28, 2019 3/5

The film is unbelievably kitsch, and to those who associate Batman's camp period as starting with Schumacher, you really need to look at this film again.

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