Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Batman Returns 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Warner Brothers has released Director Tim Burton's 1992 Superhero film 'Batman Returns' to the UHD format (also being released are 1989's 'Batman,' 1995's 'Batman Forever,' and 1997's 'Batman & Robin'). The new release features a gorgeous 2160p/HDR video presentation and an equally engaging Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The included Blu-ray, which has been remastered and also includes the Atmos soundtrack, carries over the supplements previously found in the 2009 Anthology Collection. There is no individual retail release for the remastered Blu-ray; at time of writing, purchasing this UHD set is the only means of obtaining it.

Batman Returns 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the included remastered 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Batman Returns is, like its predecessor, a film that leans on dark Gotham locales, bleakly and darkly costumed characters, and a contrast of shadow and light and many shades of gray to build its visual infrastructure. There are also plenty of brightly illuminated scenes and scenarios and single points of color and bright lights and whites offsetting the darkness. Burton and Cinematographer Stefan Czapsky, the latter replacing Roger Pratt, do much of the movie's best work in lower light, but the film is not as entirely noir-inspired as the original. Shadowy and bleak, yes, but not so stylized as the superior first film.

Even more so than Batman, Batman Returns' 2160p/HDR UHD presentation is transformative. The HDR color brings with it a significant increase in color temperature, evident from the film's open during a shot featuring Cobblepot's parents at the 1:18 mark. The color tone -- here very warm and inviting -- plays in stark contrast to the older VC-1 Blu-ray which looks flat and much less healthy in comparison. It's an interesting tonal shift for the scene, framing -- bathing, nearly -- the scene in the warm, inviting, seasonal tones despite the cold action of literally dumping their deformed child moments later in a chilly river in wintertime.

But for the most part there is no tonal shift to many scenes despite the massive alterations in the color scheme. The picture now boasts a greatly increased total brightness that adds much more color depth, pop, stability, saturation, and finesse but never interferes with the film's critically darker tones and reliance on grays and blacks and shadows. Look at an early film scene depicting the tree lighting ceremony in chapter three. The objects of most prominent grayscale (the podium, the statues) appear radically more solidified, more intense yet still holding steady to the inherent bleakness they convey as prominent features in the frame. Contrarily, the red, blue, yellow and green box holding the button presents with far greater color splash, intensity, and accuracy, while the girl's furry costume accent pops with an intense white missing on the comparatively bland VC-1 Blu-ray of yesteryear. This is true of the entire film. From the greatly increased white balance and brilliance seen on the opening titles (and Warner Brothers has also eliminated some of the wobble that accompanied them on the old disc) to Catwoman's bold red lipstick, from Gotham's drab skyline to Kyle's colorful kitchenette, the feel for the color spectrum's stability and highly increased luminance -- again never sacrificing the contrasting darkness, which holds black level depth and detail to far greater standards of perfection than the old disc -- give the movie an eye-catching presentation that greatly betters the picture's feel and flow and offers a perfect contrast between light and dark and everything that Burton allows to fall in between.

The UHD additionally enjoys a much-needed stabilization of its textural qualities. The picture appears greatly sharper on UHD, taking full advantage of its source resolution as well as the UHD format's bitrate and breathing room to offer a texturally finessed presentation that is sharp throughout, even in the most challengingly dense shadows and low light conditions. Gotham's massive monuments to concrete enjoy fruitful definition and firm, sharp texturing even under the burdens of intense grayscale and surrounding bleakness. Characters are finessed, enjoying high yield skin and costume details, from the rubbery Batman garb to Catwoman's patchwork glossy black outfit. Penguin is a character standout, with the ragged costumes and densely applied makeup revealing the character as much more fresh and complex than ever before. The image maintains a manicured grain structure that is finely complimentary to the film. It's consistent in light density and stable in its critical aid in bringing the image to perfect filmic presentation.

The remastered 1080p Blu-ray, which is not available separately, is of course much closer to the UHD than is the VC-1 disc of yore. It lacks the color and textural finesse, of course, but is very representative of the UHD's core qualities and improvements over the old disc. Even for those who cannot play back the UHD, the package is well worth buying for the Blu-ray alone.

Batman Returns 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Batman Returns' UHD (and the included remastered Blu-ray) features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The opening title score is triumphantly large and detailed, heavy and dark yet at the same time invigorating and exciting. The track offers commanding weight to musical delivery throughout, particularly some of the organ notes such as when Cobblepot crashes a party and agrees to take Max Schrek, rather than his son, late in the film. The track folds in seamless surround engagement when Penguin's goons attack the tree lighting ceremony in chapter five. Motorcycles zoom around the stage, gunshots pop here and there, and the accompanying circus music presents with healthy, fluid spacing and instrumental detail. Explosions in chapter 16 find a highlight level of depth and detail, and the resultant shattering glass and other sounds of chaos spill through the stage with violent aggression and sonic precision. Much the same defines the end action sequence in which whirring rockets traverse the listening area and deep explosions send debris flying through the stage. There is a nice, airy, overhead feel for dialogue when Penguin is informed of his Penguin army's progress toward an attack in chapter 33. There's not much more in terms of significant overhead engagement; there's a modest feel of added spacial detailing and some of the more robust cues fold in top end elements but the track doesn't make it a point to add discrete sounds where not necessarily appropriate. Core dialogue is grounded in the front-center and presents with strong, lifelike detail and seamless prioritization.

Batman Returns 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Batman Returns' UHD disc contains only a legacy commentary track with Director Tim Burton. The included remastered Blu-ray has that track in addition to all of the supplements that Warner Brothers included with the Anthology set. For convenience, find below a breakdown of what's included. For full supplemental content reviews, please click here. This release includes a Movies Anywhere digital copy code and ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director Tim Burton.
• The Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin
• Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Pt. 4 - Dark Side of the Knight
• Batman Returns: The Heroes
• Batman Returns: The Villains
• Beyond Batman
• Music Video: "Face to Face" by Siouxsie and the Banshees.
• Theatrical Trailer

Batman Returns 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Batman Forever is nowhere near as good as Burton's original, but DeVito does bring an ominous presence to the screen, even if the character is a little too ridiculous to be taken seriously. The story isn't as tight, either, and pacing is a problem. Still, it's better than what was to come in the later 90s Batman adaptations. Warner Brothers has released a world-class UHD, offering transformative 2160p/HDR picture quality and a fine Atmos soundtrack. No new extras are included, but the bundled remastered Blu-ray ports over previously released content. Highly recommended.