The Penguin review: "Features one of the best performances in Batman’s on-screen history"

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.

And across the show’s eight episodes, she truly does, becoming the best character in this saga by a long way, thanks primarily to a wonderful performance from Cristin Milioti. If you’re familiar with her work from Palm Springs and How I Met Your Mother, her charm as an actor will be unsurprising, but it’s the sheer brutality that she brings to her role that really takes everything up a notch.

It’s through Sofia’s story that this show really shines. By centering a female crime boss, showrunner Lauren LeFranc shakes off easy mimicry to genre classics like Scarface and The Godfather and instead brings a fresh, fascinating twist. Milioti impresses in both flashbacks and present day storylines as her character’s history deepens, delivering one of the best performances in Batman’s on-screen history.

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.

His best scenes are with his mother Francis, played by Deirdre O'Connell. Oz dotes on his mom, stealing expensive jewelry for her and dancing with her to old records. However, there’s always something off between them, and as their sweet relationship deepens into something much more, it becomes clear why. It’s a storyline that takes the show to some of the darkest places we’ve seen in any Batman adaptation yet, and Farrell and O’Connell sell it completely.

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.

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 as a Scarface-style rise to power that 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 to upcoming DC movies and shows and how to watch the DC movies in order.