The Penguin review: HBO series is a masterpiece

Last Updated on September 17, 2024

Plot: In the wake of Carmine Falcone’s death, Oz attempts to legitimize himself among Gotham’s criminal underworld.

Review: In the ever-expanding world of IP, DC has been working hard to differentiate itself from the Marvel Studios behemoth. While The Penguin pre-dates James Gunn’s rebirth of DC Studios, it is rooted in Matt Reeves’ acclaimed The Batman, which exists outside of the new cinematic universe canon of the DCU. Unlike Gunn’s own Peacemaker series, The Penguin exists within the vision of Gotham seen in the 2022 feature film but is not full of references, connections, and cameos. The Penguin is a dark and gritty crime saga that picks up from where The Batman film left the city of Gotham, literally and figuratively drowning in the wake of The Riddler’s plan. With a power vacuum in the criminal underworld, Oz Cobb (renamed from Cobblepot in the comics) steps up to claim what he has long desired, resulting in a wholly distinct look from any prior incarnation of the character or any iteration of Batman mythology. Even better than Todd Phillips’ Joker, The Penguin is a masterful look at an iconic character in a way we have never seen before through the most transformative acting performance Colin Farrell has ever done.

Having seen the full eight-episode series, I can unequivocally state that The Penguin is unlike any other MCU or DC Universe project. While we have seen villain-centric films and series like Joker, Suicide Squad, and Loki, few of them have really dug into a character’s full origin and rise. In The Batman, we saw Penguin as a mid-level lieutenant of the Falcone crime family who, by the film’s end, was in a position to fill the void left by Carmine Falcone’s (John Turturro) death. At the start of this series, Oz begins maneuvers to take control but runs up against Falcone’s children Alberto (Michael Zegen) and Sofia (Cristin Milioti) as well as underboss Johnny Vitti (Michael Kelly). With successors in line to take over the family, Oz must play chess with the various factions in Gotham’s criminal network, including incarcerated boss Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown), the Triads, and more. Oz also enlists the help of street kid Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), who serves as a protege for the aspiring kingpin. Through the series, we learn more about the inner workings of Gotham City, from the lowest-level thugs to the power at City Hall.

To divulge any plot elements of The Penguin would be a disservice to watching this series, which functions as a long-form cinematic experience rather than a television show. Colin Farrel had all of six scenes in The Batman but is front and center in virtually every minute of this project. Wearing the prosthetic full-body suit, Farrel completely transforms into a different person. At no point did I see Farrel peek through the silicone and make-up while watching The Penguin, making this one of the most impressive performances I have ever seen. While this series is centered on Oz as the main character, we are not forced to sympathize with him. Oz is a villain, and Farrel makes every lie and false promise the character makes a visceral indictment of his lack of humanity. There are flashbacks to Oz’s childhood that show the first glimpses of his capability for evil, which ripples through every interaction he has with Sofia Falcone and even his own mother, Francis (Dierdre O’Connell), who suffers from dementia. Oz’s most honest relationships are with Victor and Oz’s love interest, Eve (Carmen Ejogo), but even those come with caveats.

While Bruce Wayne is not mentioned once in The Penguin, the specter of Batman looms large over Gotham City. The Riddler is referenced, as is the drug known as Drops, and we see Mayor-Elect Bella Real, but this tale centers on Oz and his tenuous relationship with Sofia Falcone. Cristin Milioti delivers a performance that goes toe-to-toe with Colin Farrel in terms of sheer viciousness. Both Farrel and Milioti echo elements from gangster films ranging from Scarface to Goodfellas but avoid falling into the cliche elements of the genre. Sofia gets her own flashbacks and origin story, including Mark Strong portraying a younger version of John Turturro’s Carmine Falcone. The supporting cast includes Theo Rossi as Julian Rush, a doctor at Arkham Asylum, and Shohreh Aghdashloo as Sal Maroni’s wife, Nadia. The entire ensemble populates this corner of Gotham with a distinct look and feel that fits into the world of Matt Reeves’ film but widens the perspective on what the city encompasses.

There is also a significant difference in the maturity level of The Penguin versus The Batman. While The Batman pushed the envelope of what a PG-13 film could show on screen and boasted the lone allowable f-bomb, HBO provides this series with an unbridled platform. The Penguin is chock full of profanity, violence, and bloodshed, which puts any R-rated comic book project to shame. The bloodshed is not gratuitous, characterizing the cutthroat underworld and the players’ stakes in surviving at any cost. Because this series has no filter, Oz and the characters around him talk and act as any real person would. This is consistent with Matt Reeves’ vision of this take on the DC Comics universe, which is a realistic portrayal of a city overcome by crime. But, no matter how gritty they go, this is still a piece of entertainment, and it succeeds in creating characters to love and others you love to hate. Audiences have been drawn to the enigmatic and insane versions of The Joker over the years. Still, The Penguin evolves from the living cartoons played by Burgess Meredith and Danny DeVito. Colin Farrel takes Robin Lord Taylor’s interpretation from Gotham and elevates Oz into a brutal and calculating monster.

Showrunner Lauren LeFranc wrote the first and final episodes, with the other six written by Erika L. Johnson, Noelle Valdivia, John McCutcheon, Breanna Gibson & Shaye Ogbonna, Nick Towne, and Vladimir Cvetko. LeFranc has experience with superhero fare thanks to her time writing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and series Chuck and Hemlock Grove, but The Penguin is a major leap in the quality of her work. With the entire writing staff focusing on making this a great story and not paying fan service, they have delivered a layered, intense crime drama. Craig Zobel (The Hunt, Z for Zachariah) directs the series on the first three, Helen Shaver (Station Eleven, Lovecraft Country) on episodes four and five, Kevin Bray (Walking Tall) on episodes six and seven, and Jennifer Getzinger (Mad Men, Westworld) on the eighth and final episode. The directors do not go quite as visually dark as Matt Reeves, but they do harness his tone to make The Penguin feel right at home alongside the big screen style of The Batman.

The Penguin easily becomes the best DC or Marvel television series to date, with the bar being raised substantially. Colin Farrell’s performance will easily earn the actor a slew of awards, and it is another jewel in the long-running streak of top-caliber HBO original series. A couple of key moments towards the end of the series will shake up audiences who are unprepared for where The Penguin is headed. Still, it also provides some references that tease us into how these characters will factor into The Batman Part II. Not a single moment in these eight episodes feels wasted or padded, which is surprising since every episode comes close to a full hour, with the premiere and finale going longer than sixty minutes. The Penguin is a sprawling character study of a villain’s rise that echoes Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne’s transformation to become the Dark Knight. Like Batman, we met Oz in the early stages of his journey, the result of which was his evolution from bad guy to supervillain. Comic book roots or not, The Penguin is a masterpiece of a series that will be the defining performance of Colin Farrel’s career.

The Penguin premieres on September 19th on HBO.