Introduction

As far as comic-based franchises go, Batman has been the few with the largest alternative takes. We’ve seen darker, comedic, extremely tough, and so many cartoon versions I could spend my life watching them all and still have more to watch. The beauty of the world of Batman is that writers can use so much from it! After the success of the newest movie (The Batman), I was surprised when news came out that the least likely villain was getting his spin-off TV series on Max.

The Penguin, one of the usual goofiest villains in all of the lore of Batman, was quite different in the most recent movie and portrayed by Colin Farrell, who was almost unrecognizable after hours upon hours of makeup. Now he has his miniseries that takes place directly after the events of the movie’s final scenes.

I went in skeptical if I could like The Penguin after really never loving the villain in every adaptation but after 8 episodes I now hate Penguin but that doesn’t mean what it sounds like. Long story short, The Penguin is pretty good but if you want to know why it was so good, keep reading the review below!

Warning, minor spoilers but I’ll make sure to warn you!

Watch the Official Trailer

Story

The Penguin takes place literally after the events of the 2022, The Batman movie. Penguin (Oswald “Oz” Cobb) is meeting with one of the Falcone children, Alberto Falcone. Their discussion goes south quickly and Oz ends up murdering Alberto and now, realizes he’s going to be in some hot water if word gets around. Oz’s day goes from bad to worse when his car is nearly vandalized in front of him by a bunch of street punks but one is caught by Oz and is forced to join him as a lackey.

Meanwhile, released from the Arkham Asylum moments later, Sofia Falcone learns of her brother’s murder and seeks to get revenge, as he’s the only one who seems to care about her well-being. The Penguin then divulges into Oz trying to create an internal coup in the various mafia families while rising to the top.

The Penguin almost feels like The Sopranos fused with Gotham. Unlike most Batman stories, The Penguin is considerably darker with killings, betrayals, and dark themes. It’s hard to root for anyone in this series as they are all evil. I hoped that Vincent, the lackey Oz took on, would come out seeing as his back story is quite tragic.

I think creator Lauren LeFranc did a stellar job taking a normally comedic and ridiculous central villain of the Batman franchise and making him into a true villain that was very much akin to the recent Batman film. The Penguin had a bit of a slow start for me but by episode 3 I was hooked and each episode kept me wanting more from the series. I believe viewers of The Penguin will also be quite surprised at how it ends as even I didn’t see it coming!

Acting & Cast

I’ll never forget when I saw The Batman in the movies. I didn’t realize that the Penguin was played by Colin Farrell, who I love in most of his films. Colin’s makeup crew made him look like a completely different person but it didn’t change how convincing of an actor he was. While there aren’t many Batman characters (most are minor villains and/or underutilized ones at least) that doesn’t mean their acting wasn’t done incredibly well.

Victor Aguilar (played by Rhenzy Feliz) and Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) stole the show, more often than not, in their roles. Both would sell their characters and sometimes overshadow even the great Colin. Cristin was one of my favorites as she made Sofia into a tragic girl who was not only betrayed by several people in her life but, was filled with rage.

Colin gets prop for turning his character into someone I hated and detested. His ruthless nature and narcissistic ways could only be done by someone with acting chops like Farrell. The Penguin has a stellar cast that I would love to dive into more but, many revelations can be considered spoilers so I’ll keep that to myself.

Mark Strong, who plays Carmine Falcone in The Penguin replacing John Turturro, did an excellent job as Carmine. While I did love Turturro’s version in The Batman, I think Strong kept that same dark/evil crime lord persona.

Cinematography & Direction

As someone from New York, I always laugh when I see it being altered as Gotham in the various Batman movies. Gotham was occasionally ridiculous but the set director and film crew did a great job keeping it realistic. Likewise, The Penguin was handled with a lot of care and attention when it came to how it was filmed and choreographed.

My earlier remark about it being akin to The Sopranos is because of how The Penguin aims to be very serious and dramatic. Imagine if The Penguin was filmed like Gotham (the show) the entire series would feel less serious and almost comedic.

Conclusion

Character-wise, I hate Oz even more than ever before, especially given his final action in The Penguin. However, this series was a true surprise for me. I loved The Penguin thanks to its excellent story, stellar plot, and strong characters. I wish there were a few characters I liked and wanted to win and the fact our Dark Knight never makes a single appearance irks me but I understand.

This is a series about The Penguin, his rise to infamy, and why he’s a true enemy of Batman. If you can get past the minor issues in the show, The Penguin is a great watch and leads to a nice entry point to the sequel to The Batman.

–Aaron