The Penguin

I've been waiting for The Penguin ever since it was first announced it was going to series and I can tell you it's every bit as good as I expected. Colin Farrell is absolutely terrific as Oz Cobb a.k.a. The Penguin. He was a standout on The Batman and is even better in a lead role. On top of that Cristin Milioti is just as good as Sofia Falcone. The two of them fight to see who is the #1 gangster in Gotham and to "bring order in all the chaos." Some people were worried that a supporting character like The Penguin couldn't carry a show and it wouldn't work not having Batman or Bruce Wayne but fear not because this is more than just villain character on a superhero show, it's a great crime drama on its own. It's a gritty, violent crime drama that's so fun to watch unfold. I hope we get more stories like this from this world.

Absolutely nailed the tone and atmosphere. Gritty and grimy and dark, but Farrell is able to capture that glimmer of charm Gandolfini's Tony Soprano did.

There are similarities to the sopranos especially in tone. A lot of dark stuff goes down in this opening episode, but there's still comedic moments that match the tone and don't undermine it.

Where to start with Farrell. Amazing is the right word. Love to see talented star actors go all in on roles like this, and the makeup/cgi or whatever exactly they did with transforming him into the penguin physically not only passes the eye test, it looks incredible realistic. There is always the risk that if the make up job isn't good enough or is just a little off, it can completely distract. In the penguin, it adds to his performance and the overall quality of the show because it's such a damn good job. And Farrell as an actor is completely immersed in this role. I'm maybe a little biased because he is one of my favorite actors prior to this show, but I think this is going to get him well-deserved accolades.

I never really tune into new shows right away because I like to watch the episodes all at once, but I wanted to see how this one actually came out.

Didn't disappoint, in fact blew me away. Kudos to everyone involved with this project.

The first episode is a direct continuation of Matt Reeves' The Batman and I imagine those who haven't seen the latter will be a bit lost. But I watched The Batman a while ago and this show did an admirable job of quickly re-familiarizing me with where the movie left off, and without getting bogged down in a didactic recap. It also recaptures the movie's aesthetic and grim tone nicely, although the show has a lot more moments of sly levity than the movie did.

As in The Batman, Colin Farrell does an excellent job portraying The Penguin as a stereotypical mafia "street guy:" uncouth, profane, mercurial and quick to violence; but also savvy, cunning and able to read people. The character might have absolutely nothing to do with the comic book version but he's interesting in his own right.

I have my doubts about the show giving The Penguin at teenage sidekick; and I don't know if The Penguin's machinations will be enough to sustain a whole season. But so far it's off to a great start.

Wow. The Penguin is just terrific. Everyone knows what a great actor Colin Farrell is but he's unrecognizable here as The Penguin. I wouldn't be surprised to see him nominated for some awards for his role in this. The biggest surprise was Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone. I wasn't too sure when I heard she was named actress for this role, she's a good actress but didn't think this role was for her. I was wrong. She's as good as Farrell is in this and makes you believe Sofia Falcone is a true rival to The Penguin. I also wouldn't be surprised to see how nominated for some awards for her role in this. This isn't your typical DC or Marvel show, it's a full on gangster series. This series takes place in the underworld of a now semi destroyed Gotham City and is a great follow up to Matt Reeves' The Batman. This is how you do it DC.

So, the first episode is done and it was excellent. I've never seen Farell so invested in a character. I mean yes, he's wearing a fat suit but you'd never know it. His attitude, body language, voice all make you submerge into the character and only see Penguin. It has no relationship to any of the other live TV penguins, Burgess Meredith or Robin Lord Taylor. This a New York mobster, a wise guy. He's a Scorsese mobster but without the florid language.

The plot is simple, similar to Lord Taylors Penguin in the CW's Gotham. The Penguin is a middle man in a mob organization. Up until now he's been doing his time, slowly moving up in the mob and then, with the effects of the Riddler blowing up the city sea wall and the death of his boss in that movie, he sees a chance to move up in the world. Now begins the game of cross, double cross and, I suppose, triple cross. Highly entertaining and very much recommended.