The Penguin has finished its run on HBO Max, and we are happy to talk about one of our favorite DC series ever. When I say DC series, I include the Arrowverse, and frankly even every movie made in the DC lineup, with the exception of the animated shows from my childhood, of course.
As always, we break down our reviews by acting, story, and overall. So, let’s jump on into it.
Story 8/10
The series picks up exactly where The Batman ends. The damage and destruction to Gotham by the Riddler’s plan has left the poorest of the city to defend for themselves and scrape by. While the richest and wealthiest are not only unaffected, but are thriving. All of which is a new world that was left behind by the Riddler. Through the series we are taken through the two journeys of this road, first with Victor Aguilar, suffering from the pains made worse by the flooding. The other is Sofia Falcone as she engage anew into the world of crime and wealth.
This world is re-entered with a power vacuum left over by Falcone’s murder at the hands of the Riddler. Oswald’s plan is to grab the leverage and power that Falcone left behind. However, when an act of headiness sets him off, it creates a chain of actions that sets the streets of Gotham into and almost unending war between the criminal figures of the city.
As the city limps forward and Sophia and Oswald battle it out to see who can claim whatever remains.
Acting 8.5/10
I feel like it’s incredibly unfair to cast Colin Farrell as the Penguin. A lot of people joke, “How dare you cast him when Brendan Gleeson or Richard Kind is right there.” It feels like they were just trying to make Colin Farrell look like those characters, but Colin Farrell is an amazing actor and has a great range of talent. I will specifically say that we didn’t get the chance to see a lot of him acting within the role during The Batman, but he still stands out in the film and he continues that role with much more attention and screen time in this series.
Also, Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia Gigante is also amazing in her role, threading the line between mania and rage. You can feel her entire backstory in almost every line that she delivers.
While Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti were definitely going to be amazing in their roles, being skilled actors with many impressive roles in the past, it was amazing seeing Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar become one of America’s fan and favorite breakouts in the HBO Max series. The character is presented in such a powerful way by Rhenzy. You can feel the growing pains as he learns about the underworld, and finds his place within it beside Oswald Cobb.
Overall 8/10
This is incredibly gritty Year One and year two Batman stories push together and presented in a dark aggressive way that feels very fitting with Matt Reeves the Batman’s world. If you like these stories and want to see a more realistic and crime ridden Gotham then this series will be a fun run, and will also be perfect for fans of crime and gangster series.
It’s a real masterpiece on DC and HBO’s part.
Conner’s Final Thoughts
It’s interesting to think about John Turturro and how he refused to return to the world of The Batman due to the fact that his character takes an even darker approach in this series.
He says he didn’t want to return because the character focuses on a violence towards women, but I find that comment weird considering the fact that in The Batman his character directly strangles Catwoman, but the illusion that he has murdered several women was too far for the actor?
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