Matt Reeves' The Batman 2022 faced an extremely difficult task at the production stage. He had to, if not surpass the previous films, then at least not embarrass himself against the backdrop of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. It was an almost impossible task, but Reeves and his team managed to find the right tone, atmosphere, and presentation. That's why Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, became a hit with the public and even became the beginning of its own small cinematic universe.
HBO's The Penguin expands on Reeves' setting and focuses on one of the most memorable characters in his superhero film. Oz Cobb received eight intense episodes of the crime drama, which will surely appeal to all fans of The Sopranos, Narcos and other similar shows. Even though you won't find anything too original in the Penguin's adventures.
| Title | The Penguin |
| Genre | crime drama, noir, comics |
| Directors | Craig Zobel, Helen Shaver |
| Starring | Colin Farrell, Christine Milioti, Clancy Brown, Renzi Felice and others |
| Channel | HBO |
| Episodes | 8 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Website | IMDb |
Gotham is trying to come back to life after the destruction of the dam and the flood from the final act of the first Batman. However, infrastructure problems are only part of the city's gloomy situation. After all, the death of mafia leader Falcone has created a vacuum in the already precarious balance of Gotham's criminal forces. Oswald "Oz" Cobb (Colin Farrell) sees opportunities in the chaos. But first, he has to do a lot of things - mostly quite dirty. Oz's main opponent is Sofia Falcone (Christine Milioti), who also claims power in the Gotham underworld and is distinguished by her brutal methods multiplied by her unstable psyche.
[caption id="attachment_258704" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]
Still from The Penguin series[/caption]
The Penguin is not the first attempt by comic books to go beyond the feature-length format to tell complete stories through TV series. Marvel Studios is the most active in using this method, but the company's results are, frankly, still mediocre. The emphasis on TV series has even become one of the main reasons for the current crisis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Therefore, there may be quite logical concerns about the quality of Penguin.
However, don't worry, the production team of the series clearly understood what kind of story they wanted to tell. Colin Farrell's character was one of the most interesting in Batman, so the whole show about him allows us to better understand Oz's thoughts and motives. In addition, the latter has become a kind of guide to the criminal world of Gotham, allowing viewers to explore it from the inside. Believe me, there is something to see there.
[caption id="attachment_258706" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]
Still from The Penguin series[/caption]
Oz himself turned out to be a character who is interesting to follow throughout the eight episodes. He has unusual views on the world and extraordinary character traits. However, it is important that the show does not try to whitewash the villain's reputation. After watching the show, you are unlikely to sympathize with him, and you won't even be able to understand some of his actions. However, in the setting of dirty Gotham, where crime no longer surprises anyone and has become commonplace, even Cobb's most horrific actions seem completely authentic and make sense.
[caption id="attachment_258714" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]
Still from The Penguin series[/caption]
Because Gotham is a terrible city, and Penguin demonstrates this in the best possible way. It was this dirt and everyday horror of life that Nolan's trilogy lacked, and Reeves captured it better. The episodic format allowed the authors to take their time and immerse themselves in the details of the sad noir city. The Penguin has a lot of dialogues and walks along the streets, which in real life you would not want to linger on. But even they have their own romance.
[caption id="attachment_258708" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]
Still from The Penguin series[/caption]
But what the series demonstrates without unnecessary embellishment is the inner workings of Gotham's criminal gangs. They are all ruled by power and cruelty. Oz sometimes lacks neither the former nor the latter, so he constantly has to take it away with cunning and manipulation. It is a pleasure to watch the realization of the villain's next plan.
The Penguin is a really high-quality series, which also ends in such a way as to gently lead up to the start of Batman 2. The audience got the best example of an almost seamless transition from movie to TV series - and back again. There are almost no weaknesses in the episodes, except that the flashbacks typical of TV series distract a little from the central narrative.
[caption id="attachment_258710" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]
Still from The Penguin series[/caption]
So it's not hard to understand the massive enthusiasm for Penguin. But what is the main problem? Where did the not-so-massive but regular negative reviews of the show come from?
To explain, we need to remember the first Joker. The audience almost instantly fell in love with the film for its seriousness and "decomposition" of the superhero movie genre. However, more sophisticated viewers immediately saw in The Joker almost all the elements of Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese, who successfully told the same story back in 1976. That is, the main achievement of The Joker is that the film takes a time-honored work of art and wraps it in the format of superheroics and comic book images.
[caption id="attachment_258712" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]
Still from The Penguin series[/caption]
The same thing happened with Penguin. Fans of series about the intrigues of the criminal world and the mafia will almost instantly be able to see in the show references to their favorite moments from some completely different, sometimes significantly better stories. The originality of Oz Cobb's adventures lies primarily in the fact that he is the Penguin from DC comics, not some random gangster. And when you keep this in mind, the excessive euphoria of watching the movie disappears.
However, the overall satisfaction remains. There is almost nothing to complain about when watching it. And all other authors of comic book series should definitely watch The Penguin and take notes. The overall quality of the genre will definitely improve.