[...] The extraordinary success of both [Batman] movies comes as something of a surprise, since these are intensely personal affairs, with Batman Returns coming across as even more of a Tim Burton film than did the original. Gothic architecture, adorned with bizarre gargoyles, is constantly powdered with snow (Edward Scissorhands), the Danny Elfman score swells around the action like a tempestuous sea (Edward, Batman) and the oddball characters are constantly preoccupied with their outsider status (Edward, Batman, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure). [...]

Philip Thomas in Empire, issue 38, August 1992, p. 22-23.