GamesRadar+ VerdictMore gangster saga than comic book adaptation, The Penguin is a fresh take on its titular villain, but it’s Cristin Milioti who really shines as the brutal and captivating Sofia Falcone.
GamesRadar+ Verdict
GamesRadar+ Verdict
More gangster saga than comic book adaptation, The Penguin is a fresh take on its titular villain, but it’s Cristin Milioti who really shines as the brutal and captivating Sofia Falcone.
More gangster saga than comic book adaptation, The Penguin is a fresh take on its titular villain, but it’s Cristin Milioti who really shines as the brutal and captivating Sofia Falcone.
Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.
Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.
Matt Reeves’ 2022 take on The Batman reimagined the world of the caped crusader in a grimier, more down-to-earth setting. Now its new spin-off series The Penguin takes this one step further with a grounded eight-part gangster series that feels closer to The Sopranos than the world of superheroes.
Framed as an origin story for one of Batman’s best members of the rogues gallery, Oswald Cobb (not Cobblepot in this version), the series charts the Penguin’s rise and rise in Gotham’s criminal underbelly. Colin Farrell is back as the heavily prosthetic-laden character as the show picks up in the weeks following the events of The Batman.
The Riddler has flooded Gotham, Carmine Falcone is dead, and there’s an opportunity to grab power of the city’s underground ring. The Penguin takes his chance, but underestimates his competitor, Sofia Falcone. Recently released from Arkham Asylum for her crimes as serial killer ‘The Hangman’, she’s desperate to make a name for herself.
(Image credit: HBO/Sky)
Luckily, Milioti is not the only great new addition brought into the spin-off either. Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor Aguilar is another stand-out, a sweet kid who gets mixed up in Cobb’s antics. He’s a wonderful foil to Farrell’s brash gangster – especially in their exchanges over Victor’s stutter. Then, when the show gets into his backstory in an astonishing set piece upping the stakes of this story, the young actor really dazzles.
Farrell too brings a lot of heart to Oz, who becomes a much more fleshed out character in this iteration than his butt-of-the-joke role in Reeves’ film. Huge props have to be given to the prosthetics and make-up team whose incredible work makes sure the character looks realistic, while also giving Farrell the tools to embody this role. The whole result means the Oscar-nominated actor is pretty much unrecognizable from the moment he steps out of his garish purple sports car and starts talking in his brash, New Yorker-drawl.
Other new arrivals don’t work quite as well. The revolving wheel of background gangsters are pretty disposable, rotating in and out with much to do. Equally, the women at the Iceberg Lounge barely get much development beyond being pawns in Oz’s plans. This is especially a shame as a scene between Sofia and one character late on in the run hints at just how much could have been explored there.
(Image credit: HBO/Sky)
Ultimately though, where The Penguin works best is as a bleak origin story for its two leads, Oz and Sofia. Paced across eight episodes, their stories are handled with a deft touch, drip-feeding details about their past throughout for a satisfying watch.
There’s no flinching from its brutality either, as the series really earns its TV-MA rating. Whether it be the Arkham-set scenes full of chilling savagery or the heinous decisions that its characters make throughout, there’s a lot of darkness to this story. And without a dark knight to stand against the villains (Reeves has confirmed Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is completely absent), its brutalness is rarely capped.
This may make it hard to digest for the more devoted Batman fan, used to the fight between good and evil usually so crucial to this world. And while the decision not to include references to the wider world of Reeves’ Batman story make it feel fresh in an increasingly crowded superhero genre, it does push the limits of credulity at times.
Indeed, there comes a point where it seems pretty unbelievable that there would be no crossover at all. The series deliberately side-stepping allusions and cameos means that absences feel conspicuous. Does it really make sense that Batman wouldn’t have his ears to the ground in the power vacuum of Carmine’s death?
That being said, if you take The Penguin asa Scarface-style rise to powerthat its creators keep suggesting you do, there’s a lot to like here. This bold reimagining will make you root for the baddies, too – and I, for one, am intrigued to see where Reeves brings them next as The Batman 2 looms.
The Penguin will be available from September 20 on Sky and NOW in the UK and from September 19 on HBO in the US.
For more, check out our guides toupcoming DC movies and showsand how to watch theDC movies in order.
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More about the penguinThe Penguin season 2 looks promising, as Matt Reeves reveals he’s talking to the showrunner about continuing the DC showPenguin theory argues one unsuspecting character is secretly an iconic Batman villain that we haven’t seen since the Christopher Nolan trilogy
More about the penguin
The Penguin season 2 looks promising, as Matt Reeves reveals he’s talking to the showrunner about continuing the DC showPenguin theory argues one unsuspecting character is secretly an iconic Batman villain that we haven’t seen since the Christopher Nolan trilogy
The Penguin season 2 looks promising, as Matt Reeves reveals he’s talking to the showrunner about continuing the DC show
The Penguin season 2 looks promising, as Matt Reeves reveals he’s talking to the showrunner about continuing the DC show
Penguin theory argues one unsuspecting character is secretly an iconic Batman villain that we haven’t seen since the Christopher Nolan trilogy
Penguin theory argues one unsuspecting character is secretly an iconic Batman villain that we haven’t seen since the Christopher Nolan trilogy
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