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I thought Robin's portrayal was pretty good in BF but in B&R he was too annoyingly over-the-top. He seems too unreasonable in complaining Batman may never trust him for wanting him to train more after he nearly did get himself killed and in insisting that Batman just wants Poison Ivy for himself when, aside from in the initial auction Batman always seems pretty stoically in-control and not-tempted, also that he's so in love with and trusting of Ivy even though she often seems pretty clearly really evil.

In one of the novelizations while they're escaping Ivy complains "I hate heights!" and Freeze replies something like "You'll hate jail more, come on!," I was kind of surprised on rewatching the film that that wasn't included.

Ivy was really hot and sexy (really impressive when I first saw the movie at 14 or 15 and still now too) and, aside from that, she was a mostly good character-portrayal, one of the few characters that was pretty sincerely played (aside from her coming to want to freeze the world).

I loved her first costume and hairstyle and wished she had kept them, her second set was less but still good while her third was a bit of a miss (but still fine acting).

Still, overall Gough was the best part of the movie.

Two-Face is terrible as an adaptation of the comics; if you pretend he was an original character he's still bad but not that bad. I think he does have a pretty interesting relationship and some chemistry with the Riddler, though, and I'm not sure a real serious Two-Face would have worked well in that duo.

I first watched it at 9 in 1998, having seen and liked Batman Forever and some TAS/MotP but not a lot else. It did feel a little weird to see Batman without Robin but I loved how timeless it was and even then I think I liked that the villains reflected Batman. I was already a fan of DeVito and loved that the Penguin was really warped and how Catwoman was a dark but sympathetic anti-hero.

One thing I love about Batman Returns, that's pretty unusual, is that it's pretty independent in its cynical commentary. The Penguin is obviously a bad guy causing the problems he complains about but the establishment/incumbent Mayor, while not evil, really is very ineffectual, you would hope that there could and should be someone better. So the public is made to look foolish for supporting the Penguin but it's also very understandable given the alternative. I'm not even sure if that was intended but it's very interesting for a movie to argue that the insider and the outsider are both bad.

Most of the Batman movie villains have pretty ruthless, evil plots and characterizations and so, to an extent, all the movies have somewhat dark themes. But BR probably does still have the most grotesque violence and it's neck-and-neck with TDK for grimness and intensity.

It's indeed interesting that for so long after BR comic book movies have been very reluctant to show blood.

I don't think the sexual innuendo and themes and themes are particularly intense, though, the Penguin's are pretty distasteful but watching the movie as a kid most of them went over my head and I think that would be the more common reaction.