On September 19, 2024, Max premiered 'The Penguin', which has earned rave reviews and currently holds at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. "The next chapter in The Batman saga, this crime drama follows Oz Cobb’s quest for power and control in Gotham City." The Critics Consensus reads, "Depicting Gotham through bone-breaking punches rather than popping onomatopoeia, The Penguin is a grounded crime saga given gravitas by Colin Farrell and a scene-stealing Cristin Milioti." The ensemble cast includes Berto Colon, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Myles Humphus. But what did the critics say?
Daniel Fienberg of Hollywood Reporter was less impressed, stating, "I’m not saying HBO’s The Penguin is derivative, but it’s the second TV show in less than six months in which Colin Farrell plays a character obsessed with the glamour of black-and-white Old Hollywood movies — specifically using clips from Gilda to evoke nostalgia for a period that our hero is too young to have experienced firsthand, a poignant yearning for a world with mystique and morality that no longer exist."
Christian Holub of Entertainment Weekly notes, "It manages to tell an entertaining crime saga without leaning too much on the absent Dark Knight -- although it still ends up falling prey to some of the weaknesses inherent in Batman adaptations."
Fico Cangiano of CineXpress praises the limited series, stating, "A must-watch! A thrilling expansion & exploration of Oswald Cobblepot & Matt Reeves' corrupt & violent Gotham City. A highly entertaining street-level gangster drama that delivers. Colin Farrell is phenomenal. Perfect before TB2."
Aramide Tinubu of Variety writes, “The Penguin” is set one week after the events of Matt Reeves’ 2022 movie “The Batman,” but it would be too simplistic to call it a villain origin story. Instead, HBO’s limited series — created by Lauren LeFranc — revolves around the rise of Oz “the Penguin” Cobb (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell), whose fixation on power blossoms into something so grotesque it becomes uncontainable. A masterful examination of criminality, the show is twisted, disturbing and deeply enthralling. LeFranc’s robust narrative picks up after the Riddler’s attack on Gotham in the film. With the most vulnerable and underprivileged neighborhoods in the city decimated, and Oz’s boss Carmine Falcone dead, Oz decides this is the perfect time to strike. Quickly piecing together a risky, poorly thought-out plan, he begins seizing control of the underworld while the Falcones scramble to restructure and maintain their decades-long hold on Gotham. Though sinister in his thinking and boasting a gift for gab, Oz fails to anticipate two things as he works feverishly to propel himself to the top. The first is an encounter with Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), a teenager displaced by the floods, whom Oz initially intends to scare but instead takes under his wing. The second is the return of Sofia Falcone (a mesmerizing Cristin Milioti), whom Oz used to drive when he worked for Carmine. Sofia’s release from Arkham Asylum on the eve of her father’s murder isn’t something that even Oz could have prepared for." Adding, "Despite losing so much in the Riddler’s attack, Vic is gentle-hearted and fearful, and has a stutter. Yet Oz senses something in his new protégé that once brewed inside him — a desire to fit in somewhere. Oz uses Vic’s vulnerability to build a bond with him. Across eight episodes, their father-son relationship showcases glimmers of who Oz could have been if Gotham and his mother, Francis (a fantastic performance by Tony winner Deirdre O’Connell), hadn’t hardened him long before he reached manhood. Feliz brings such tenderness to Vic that in spite of the heinous activities he participates in, the viewer can readily forget how diabolical Oz’s plans are."
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| Photo by Jordan McDonald on Unsplash |
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