The Penguin is a gripping and captivating new crime drama that has taken the television world by storm. Based on the iconic DC Comics character Oswald Cobblepot, better known as The Penguin, the show takes a deep dive into the antihero’s rise to power in Gotham City. While fans of Batman may be familiar with the Penguin’s criminal exploits, this series provides a fresh and unique perspective, focusing on his transformation from a low-level gangster to one of Gotham’s most notorious crime lords. With a blend of dark humor, complex characters, and intense action, The Penguin is proving to be a standout in the realm of comic book adaptations.
‘The Penguin’: HBO’s ‘Batman’ Spin-Off Soars Beyond Expectations
Author: Thomas Ellinidis0 Comments
2022’s The Batman was our first solo Batman film in a decade and took the world by storm, getting critical acclaim and grossing nearly $800m at the box office. In my review of the film, I not only called it a top 3 Batman film but argued it was the best film of 2022, a statement I still stand by. Returning to Matt Reeves’ Gotham City a little over 2 years after the movie came out was an exhilarating prospect, but only if it was worth returning to.
Thankfully, The Penguin doesn’t disappoint. Lauren LeFranc, Craig Zobel, Matt Reeves and the rest of the team created the perfect entry for this universe, giving us more of the dark and brooding Gotham we know and love. Anchored by two phenomenal lead performances, The Penguin will have you itching in your seat every week for the next episode.
The cast is brilliant, and everyone gets a moment to shine at one point or another. Colin Farrell returns as Oz Cobb and delivers a fantastic performance. Changing his voice and entire aesthetic, through the use of prosthetic makeup, he’s unrecognizable in a career-best performance. The Penguin showcases a Carmine Falcone-less Gotham for the first time in ages and now it’s Oz’s turn to take up that mantle. Being front and centre for the first time in his life means the audience can see all the sides of Oz, good and bad. It’s a joy to watch on screen and showcases how this initially supporting character is going to be very important moving forward. Clancy Brown, Carmen Ejogo, Theo Rossi, Michael Kelly, and newcomer Rhenzy Feliz also deliver on all fronts, providing excellent performances. However, Cristin Milioti’s performance stands out above the others. Watching her play Sofia Falcone is mesmerizing, cold, calculating, sadistic, and very emotional. Cristin Milioti gives the performance of the year as she steals every single scene she’s in and in the fourth episode particularly, she’s phenomenal. An Emmy nomination for her is inevitable and Milioti’s performance will go down as an all-timer in the superhero genre.
From a production standpoint, this might be as good as it gets for a limited series. If anything, this feels like 8 movies bundled together and sold as a show. Its scope is enormous, with Gotham feeling as real as it was in The Batman. Having 8 episodes also allows for the scope of the city to grow tremendously and feel even more real than before. No money feels wasted anywhere and this is especially true when it comes to Penguin himself. The crew, led by the incredible makeup artist Mike Marino, perfected Farrell’s transformation into his character and he might even look better here than he did in The Batman. Just as we’ve come to expect from an HBO show, everything looks pristine and top-tier.
The show is thematically very much your usual mob show, with the best comparison being HBO’s crown jewel for the last 25 years, The Sopranos. The focus on family dynamics in The Penguin is integral to the show as we watch the Falcones and Maronis duke it out. The common crime show themes of identity, family, power, and greed are woven throughout the series but it’s the magic of the writing team and the characters they’re given to work with that makes this stand out from the crowd. Following Sofia Falcone and Oz Cobb as they each try to figure out who they are in a post-The Batman world is riveting, and the use of power and greed is integral to their characters throughout the series.
The trickiest part about doing a spin-off like Penguin is the story and giving it a reason to exist beyond an excuse to see these characters again. Thankfully, the story is not only integral to the lore Matt Reeve has created, but it’s also just really damn good. Set one week after the events of The Batman, we see Oz’s slow rise to power following Carmine Falcone’s death. We witness the residual effects of Riddler flooding Gotham in full force, allowing for more character development and attachment to the universe to be made between the show and the viewer. It sets up The Batman Part II perfectly and more than shows its worth, story-wise, as early as the first episode.
The Penguin is a masterclass on how to make great television. This dark, brooding, and grounded follow-up to The Batman is some of the finest television in years. Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti give the best performances of their careers and place themselves as solid Emmy frontrunners. The two-year wait to return to this universe in The Batman II will certainly feel longer than two years now.
