The Penguin is one of the most hotly anticipated shows of this fall season. The project serves as the long-awaited continuation of The Batman, focusing on the story of Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb in his quest to become a renowned gangster in a city run by crime families like the Falcones and Maronis.
Colin Farrell once more delivers a once-in-a-lifetime performance as Oz Cobb in The Penguin. His extended screen time allows him to dig even deeper into the character than he did in The Batman, so much so that it’s easy to forget the actor is even wearing prosthetics. The nuance, tragedy, and humor that he brings to the role is nothing short of Emmy-worthy.
That doesn’t mean Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb is a good adaptation of The Penguin. Far from it. The character is almost unrecognizable from DC’s Oswald Cobblepot. In the comics, Oswald is the son of one of Gotham’s founding families, born into the lap of privilege. Yet unlike Bruce Wayne, who became the Batman following the loss of his parents, a lifetime of abuse led Oswald to become a kingpin of crime in search of the power and control that he never had.
The Penguin flips that dynamic on its head. Oz Cobb grew up as poor as the day he was born with a much different family life. Yet his drive isn’t one of power, but rather for the love and respect he’d gain as a pillar of his community. This motivation works in the world of The Batman, juxtaposing Bruce Wayne’s journey to step out of the shadows as a symbol in the first movie. However, it’s also key in evaluating the large departure presented with Colin Farrell’s take on the character.
While Colin Farrell may be the lead of The Penguin, he’s far from the star. That honor goes to Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia Falcone in the series. Sofia is the daughter of Carmine Falcone, who enters the series fresh out of Arkham State Hospital, a punishment bequeathed to her following a series of murders for which she was dubbed “The Hangman.”
Cristin Miloti’s performance as Sofia Falcone in The Penguin will go down as one of the best in DC history. The character is fractally complex, with every action and piece of information changing the audience’s perception as Sofia grows throughout the story. An unnerving realism is brought to the scenes of trauma and pain by Miloti that it’s impossible to look away, even at the woman’s more manic moments that will shock anyone who watches.
Though no praise can be given to Sofia Falcone without flowers being given to The Penguin‘s costume department, headed by Helen Huang. While the entire cast has a solid wardrobe, Cristin Moliti’s outfits take things to another level, elevating every scene she’s in by highlighting the unique nature of her character and her emotions at that moment. In other words, the outfits were slaying throughout the series.
Sadly, not every performance is as strong as Cristin Miloti’s and Colin Farrell’s. Rounding out the main cast is Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar. To Feliz’s credit, he plays the character well. He didn’t have a leading role in The Runaways as Alex Wilder for nothing. The main issue is that The Penguin doesn’t allow the character to have the depth given to Sofia Falcone and Oz Cobb.
Victor Aguilar was a character clearly created to give Oz Cobb an ally and a mirror of his younger self to mold in a similar way to how other characters molded him. The issue is that tying the character that closely to Colin Farrell’s emotional journey through The Penguin means Victor is unable to grow beyond the demands of the plot. This leaves his character as a shadow of what he could have been, following rote crime film archetypes and refusing to evolve beyond them.
Back on a slightly more positive note, the cinematography of The Penguin is beautiful. While the quality slightly tapers after episode 1, it’s clear the team put in the effort to make Gotham as visually engaging as possible. This is especially true when showcasing how the city has been ruined following the events of The Batman, the fallout of which is a key point throughout the show.
The Penguin does, sadly, continue the curse of eight-episode seasons. Most limited series fall into the trap of kneecapping the show’s pacing with an obligatory flashback episode, and this one is no exception. It’s odd, especially since the show manages to avoid the pitfall with a similar story in later parts of the season.
The story continues to be one of The Penguin‘s shortcomings in other departments. The reason The Batman was so beloved was because it was a new, fresh take on an iconic character. In contrast, the story of Oz Cobb is one as old as mobster movies itself. It’s hard to say anything about it as any concrete details would allow even cursory fans of the genre to guess the show’s biggest twists.
This is a product of The Penguin being practically allergic to the reason people are watching it. The Batman and Joker have both been criticized for straying too far from the DC comics at some points, despite being amazing movies. The Penguin takes this even further by sanitizing the show of anything that could have made it unique. Only a handful of dialogue lines keep this show from being just any generic, albeit good, show about organized crime.
It’s hard to say that The Penguin isn’t a worthy watch if you’re already planning on giving it a chance. The show’s strong leads manage to smooth over most of the glaring issues. However, the lack of any of the more fantastical comic book elements that brought life to The Batman makes it hard to recommend to DC fans looking for a new spin on their favorite genre, and even harder to recommend to crime fans looking for something new to shake up the space.
RATING: 8/10
The Penguin is set to drop on Max on September 19th, 2024. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe and make sure to stay tuned to our YouTube channel for more content.
