Review – The Penguin

Created by Lauren LeFranc and produced by Matt Reeves, The Penguin takes place a week after the events of The Batman and follows Oswald “Oz” Cobb aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell) as he attempts to rise to power in Gotham City. He faces numerous challenges, from Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) who is trying to reclaim her family’s empire after being released from Arkham Asylum, to other rivals in Gotham’s criminal underworld, all in a race to claim Gotham City for their own, which will change the fate of many lives forever.

Matt Reeves crafted one of the most phenomenal adaptations of one of greatest comic book characters in history with his film The Batman and with it opened the doors to a whole new world of storytelling possibilities in its own separate corner of the DC universe. The Penguin is the first spin-off story set in this world that follows one of Batman’s greatest adversaries on a dark journey through Gotham’s criminal underworld, expanding upon the mythos of the first film while simultaneously setting the stage for the upcoming sequel.

This series had a lot to live up to after The Batman and it certainly was fighting an uphill battle with most people doubting the necessity of this spin-off. But unlike most people, I had no doubts that this series was going to be amazing and after watching all eight episodes I am happy to say I was right in choosing not to doubt this series or judge it by the cover as others have done. The Penguin is truly one of the most masterfully crafted shows we have had this year as well as one of the best DC shows ever made in recent years.

A lot of the live-action DC shows over the years, with the exception of Peacemaker, have honestly been hugely disappointing to me with their lackluster writing and cheap production, which is why I’m glad The Penguin came in to show what DC shows should be like and establishing a new standard. Not every DC show needs to have the same tone or style as this series but they should be at least given the same amount of effort and care that was clearly put into this one in terms of acting, writing, directing, and especially technical work.

Let’s dive into what makes The Penguin so masterful starting off with its phenomenal cast who all delivered outstanding performances for their respective characters and truly brought life to the realm of Gotham’s criminal underworld. We start with the titular lead himself Oswald Cobb, marvelously reprised by Colin Farrell who dedicated his all to this performance. Colin Farrell truly surprised everyone with his unrecognizable performance and physical transformation into the Penguin in The Batman but he took things a step further in this series as we go on a full deep dive into the layers of this dark character on his journey to claim power over Gotham after the death of Carmine Falcone.

We get to see both the strengths and vulnerabilities of his character through phenomenal acting by Colin and phenomenal writing that really gets us hooked on his journey despite all the heinous and horrific crimes he commits in his quest for power. The Batman initially gave us the perspective that Oz was mostly just a thug in service of others but it’s clear that he is much more than what others perceive him to be as he shows incredible intelligence, manipulation, and strategy, playing a dangerous game in the criminal world to achieve his goals.

Yet despite all the odds against him and the multiple messy situations he gets trapped in he always manages to come out on top despite everyone underestimating. But underneath that intelligent individual is an insecure and broken man who sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him and creates a rather tragic human who in another life could have been something better than what he is had he not made the choices that he did in the past and the present. But similar to Marvel’s Agatha, this series firmly establishes Oz as a villain from start to end. Despite some of the sympathetic elements given to him by the end of this series, people are going to end up loving to hate Oz while also feeling very unsettled by where he ends up and how he got there. It’s a truly dark and disturbing journey that Colin Farrell pulled off magnificently, making his portrayal of the Penguin the best of all live-action media.

But competing with Colin Farrell and his phenomenal performance is Cristin Milioti and her equally phenomenal performance as Sofia “Gigante” Falcone, Carmine’s daughter and a presumed psychopathic serial killer who, after being released from Arkham Asylum, fights Oz for control of Gotham City’s criminal underworld. I wasn’t expecting that much from her character at the beginning even from the initial marketing of the series, but from the very first episode to the last she made history as one of the most complex and compelling female villains we have ever had in a comic book project.

Cristin Milioti takes a very lesser known character from the pages of comics and gives a powerful performance for her, creating a character that is psychologically damaged but not in the way many would expect. There is immediate tension you feel the moment she is on screen and the initial knowledge given about her from the start makes her an extremely unsettling figure to be around. However, when the truth of how she actually ended up in Arkham gets revealed, in one of the most disturbing flashback sequences I’ve ever seen in a comic book series, your entire perspective of her for the series going forward completely changes. You see the person she once was go on a horrific journey of insanity that turns her into the person she is now, and you can’t help but feel immense sympathy for her tragic story, even more compared to Oz.

Her story even makes you look at Carmine and the rest of the Falcone family very differently compared to what we knew of them in The Batman, truly showing just how twisted and corrupt they actually are for what they have done to her minus her brother. The series does a terrific job humanizing this character through the writing as does Milioti through her acting that deserves huge amounts of recognition.

Another surprising performance and character that I didn’t expect to love was Rhenzy Feliz as Victor “Vic” Aguilar, a homeless teenager who becomes Oz’s driver and personal enforcer. Vic is a young reflection of Oz both in terms of being damaged misfits as well as individuals who desire to achieve better lives for themselves after getting tired of the world keeping them down, which results in the two forming a close partnership with each other that has its rocky and tense moments but develops into something unique that brings out a more human side in Oz through the series.

Vic is the kind of character who could have easily been an annoying sidekick to the lead but he proves himself to be a compelling character of his own and represents the theme of corrupted innocence. Rhenzy Feliz also proves himself to be an emotional powerhouse who you feel constantly worried for as he is dragged deeper into the dark world of crime and faces numerous threats to his life.

This series also features an excellent supporting cast who all play their roles to perfection but there are certainly some significant standouts amongst all the talent on display. Deirdre O’Connell delivers an emotionally moving and powerful performance as Francis Cobb, Oz’s mother, who suffers from Parkinson’s and Lewy Body dementia. Playing a character like this and portraying these two conditions is not an easy task but Deirdre O’Connell pulls it off beautifully and gives us an extremely compelling supporting character that plays a large part in our lead character’s life and journey. The relationship between her and Oz appears to be very genuine on the surface but it becomes increasingly clear over the course of the series that there are some unsettling secrets about their relationship that result in some shocking revelations that will make you rethink everything about them by the end.

We also get a fantastic standout performance from Clancy Brown as the fallen crime lord Salvatore Maroni, who makes his on-screen debut after only being mentioned by name in The Batman. Clancy Brown knows exactly how to project immense presence in every role he does and that is exactly what he does in this adaptation of Maroni, who despite being imprisoned clearly still has some influence over Gotham through his family who are eager to take back what they feel was taken from them. Given how much Maroni was spoken of and built up in The Batman it was great to see the character live up to his reputation in this series, while also being given a stellar performance by a truly talented actor.

Another supporting cast member I want to address and praise is Mark Strong as the younger version of Carmine Falcone, previously portrayed by John Turturro. There is no doubt that John Turturro did an amazing job in his portrayal of the despicable crime boss but Mark Strong also delivers his own incredible take on the character in a strong and terrifying performance even within a small amount of screen time. And if you didn’t hate Carmine Falcone enough for his actions in The Batman you are going to hate him even more when you learn about what he has done in his past that is connected to his daughter Sofia.

This series has a perfectly crafted narrative that explores and deconstructs its characters while simultaneously building up tension for the eventual powder keg that is about to explode when it comes to claiming Gotham City. It certainly has the tone, pacing, and style of a noir crime drama but it is all set within the unique world of Gotham and is full of intense twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat at all times. Every time you think you know where the story is going this series manages to shock and surprise you at every crucial moment, especially when it makes some bold choices in the narrative that begin as early as the first episode.

And since this series is from the unfiltered perspective of the villains of this world rather than the hero it goes to incredibly dark places, with moral lines being crossed and not shying away from graphic sequences that weren’t shown in great detail before in The Batman. I honestly applaud Lauren LeFranc and the rest of her team for not holding back on this series, especially when creating what I consider to be the darkest finale of a comic book series I’ve ever seen. There were certain outcomes that I was expecting to happen by the finale of the series but they didn’t happen the exact way that I thought they would, leaving me shocked and disturbed by how things turn out. It is a truly haunting yet incredible ending that perfectly concludes the story that was being told, while also setting the stage for where The Batman Part II will likely be starting from.

As far as technical elements go everything in this series is crafted masterfully, from the visuals and sounds recapturing the dark and detailed world of The Batman even on a TV format. This isn’t an action-heavy series but when there is action it is quick, violent, and merciless. The action may not be as choreographed as the action of The Batman but given that this is a series focused on gangsters that was to be expected, as well as the fact it makes up for it by being incredibly intense and thrilling when it occurs.

The cinematography of this series is outstanding, matching the atmospheric beauty of Greg Fraser’s work in The Batman, and truly capturing the unsettling aura of Gotham’s underworld and providing its own unique visuals. The sets are absolutely stellar as are the effects, with a huge reliance on amazing practical effects over CGI. CGI is still present in this series and it all looks great but it is used in small amounts, which makes sense given that this is set in a world that so far has no supernatural elements involved nor needs any excessive use of CGI for its story.

Composing the music for this series is Mick Giacchino, the son of composer Michael Giacchino, who was the composer of The Batman. Mick proves himself to be a chip off the old block, delivering an absolutely amazing and haunting score for this series that matches the masterful work of his father and adds so many layers to the story being told, much like how Michael’s music in The Batman evokes various emotions and adds so much to the visual storytelling of that film. I look forward to seeing more of Mick’s work in the future because he is truly destined for greatness like his father after the fantastic work he did for this series.

The Penguin not only lived up to my expectations but also vastly exceeded them, proving itself to be a phenomenal series that has set a new bar for DC shows going forward in terms of quality and effort. I am eager to see what comes next for this incredible world and if there end up being other spin-off stories that come out later down the road then I will happily be there to see them if they are as passionately crafted as this series. I’m going to give The Penguin an A+ = 100.

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