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Of The Penguin

The Penguin Series Review

The Penguin is an American gangster drama television miniseries developed by Lauren LeFranc for HBO. It is based on the DC Comics character of the same name, and a spin off from the 2002 movie The Batman. The Penguin premiered on HBO on the 19th of September 2024, and ran for eight episodes.

The Penguin HBO Original limited series

The show follows Oswald Cobb aka The Penguin as he jostles for power in the criminal underworld of Gotham city.

The Good

Fans of gangster stories will find it reminiscent of  The Sopranos and The Godfather, just set in Gotham City. The Penguin captures Gotham City in a dark gritty atmosphere giving it a distinct, almost oppressive identity, where people gotta do what they gotta do…

Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobb aka The Penguin
Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobb aka The Penguin

I did not recognise Colin Farrell as The Penguin, at all. He completely transformed into Oswald Cobb a seemingly misunderstood character who listens to Dolly Parton and thinks he is a nice guy except when he has no choice but to be who he is…

Colin Farrel

Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone steals the show with her compelling performance as a cunning, ruthless femme-fatale of questionable sanity. Alongside Colin Farrel the duo gives the show an electric tension.

Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone in The Penguin
Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone

I loved the soundtrack to the series and naturally curated a playlist of some of the music from The Penguin

The Bad

Its somewhat predictable, if you have watched a gangster show, there some formulaic tropes on power, loyalty, honour and betrayal…

For a show set in Gotham City, Batman is conspicuously absent… While it does give the series a breath of fresh air from the super hero plots, watching it, I kept wondering but where is The Bat while Gotham is burning like so…

Bat Signal The Penguin

The Ugly

Villain-centric shows are strong on morally ambiguous themes, you find yourself looking for redeeming qualities where none exist and constantly finding yourself twisted by all the monstrosity from seemingly benevolent characters….The violence can get graphic…

Sofia Falcone and Oswald Cobb in The Penguin
Sofia Falcone and Oswald Cobb in The Penguin

That Ending!!!!!!!!

Final Thoughts

The Penguin is a compelling crime drama with award-worthy performances from Collin Farrel and Cristin Milioti.  A fun watch for fans of genre.

Have you watched The Penguin does it sound like something you would watch?

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Responses to “Of The Penguin”

  1. Jordana Atim avatar
    Jordana Atim

    I am adding this to my watch list.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Beaton avatar
      Beaton

      Its quite a fun watch
      ~B

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Bookstooge avatar
    Bookstooge

    If it wasn’t stated that that WAS Colin, I’d never have known it, at all. Guess he wanted to go through the makeup sessions pretty bad 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Beaton avatar
      Beaton

      I read that the makeup sessions were at least 4 hours… so yeah man was committed 😂
      ~B

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. M avatar
    M

    I caught a glimpse of it in the hotel when I was on vacation. Didn’t care for it. As much as I love Batman the character, the comics have always appealed to me more than the films.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Beaton avatar
      Beaton

      Well this isnt a Batman story — more like a Gotham drama backstory… I think if they had given a more comic feel similar to Sin City film noir feel it might have had more comic appeal.

      Still I enjoyed it^_^
      ~B

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. M avatar
        M

        I realize its not a batman story..like the joker films…just even on a drama level, i just couldn’t get into it

        Like

  4. Darnell Cureton avatar
    Darnell Cureton

    I really liked the series. The Penguin is a mobster without super powers. He has the gift of gab and can fight his way out of dangerous situations he created in the first place. Each episode showed his character development into a man that has “no honor among thieves.”

    Being called the penguin was a derogatory term in this series, I assume because his leg and foot disability. The makeup on Colin Farrell was transforming, so much so I read he didn’t want to return for season 2 because of the time it takes to change.
    The show was a hit so we will see…
    Acting by Rhenzy Feliz as Victor was outstanding. We got to see him develope from a smart street kid to a crime gang member. I give the series 5 stars, and hope for another season.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Beaton avatar
      Beaton

      I quite enjoyed the way he would talk himself into trouble and then get himself out of the drama he had caused and most importantly how utterly blameless he found his actions, inconvenient but blameless…

      I saw something about how it took close to four hours to get the makeup done… thats a lot of time to commit.

      I refrained from mentioning Victor in the review but he was ahnds down my favourite character, just a street smart kid trying to show he matters… and of course the power getting such a validation can change the trajectory of your life.

      ~B

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      Reply

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