The Penguin (Max) Review: A Penguin Show Saved by Colin Farrell

Two years after the film The Batman and while waiting for its sequel scheduled for 2026, the dark and sticky Gotham of director Matt Reeves is enjoying a television escapade with the HBO series The Penguinbroadcast from September 20, 2024 on the Max streaming platform.

Eight episodes returning to the origins of the supervillain, supposed to give substance to a still vague version of the universe of the Dark Knight. Here is our review, guaranteed without spoilers.

The history of the series

After the events surrounding the Riddler’s actions and the fall of godfather Carmine Falcone, Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, nicknamed The Penguin, attempts to rise to power in the criminal world of Gotham City.

Our review

The Batman Epic Crime Saga is the name given to the adaptation launched by Matt Reeves in 2022 with The Batman and detached from the rest of James Gunn’s ambitious DCU. A sort of world apart in the franchise, which is taking shape a little more with The Penguin.

This show must both prepare the ground for the return of the Caped Crusader to the cinema and show us the Penguin transforming from henchman into the crime kingpin of Gotham City. A mini-series at street level, which borrows as much from Scarface than other classics of the genre… But not everyone can be Tony Montana, and this Penguin is not the one who slides the furthest.

Far from focusing on Oswald Cobblepot, the series created by Lauren Lefranc (Impulse, Marvel: Agents of SHIELD) links the fate of other characters to its protagonist: Victor Aguilar, a lost kid that “Oz” will take under his wing, and Sofia Falcone, daughter of the missing crime boss.

A ballet of broken figures that mixes the themes of trauma, family influence and the cycle of violence. This statement of intent seems promising on paper, but turns out to be poorly orchestrated. The characters are thus terribly stereotyped and seem to play at who makes the worst decision.

The power struggle thus sometimes turns into a fight between the infirm, where betrayals follow one another at an absurd pace. Above all, far from becoming more complex, The Penguin gives off an embarrassing whiff of amateurism, a thousand miles from the strategist he is supposed to embody. It is also a miracle that he does not get shot at the end of an episode.

If the lazy writing already makes for a painful viewing experience, it’s not Craig Zobel’s uninspired direction (Mare of Easttown, The Hunt) which could add some interest to all this. The staging at the steadicam (portable shooting system) without soul thus too often prevails to the detriment of a slightly worked framing, or a banal point transfer.

Batman fans may be frustrated. The universe created by Matt Reeves is certainly still present in all its visual richness, but the series takes little advantage of it. Budget problem or ambition problem? Hard to say, but The Penguin often feels more like a fan fiction that got to stick Gotham stickers everywhere than a real spin-off produced by HBO.

From this disappointing series, we will nevertheless save a pair of interesting ideas, the impressive performance of Colin Farrell, unrecognizable as the grumpy Oz Cobblepot, and a somewhat successful finale. An awakening unfortunately too late to erase the terrible impression of a missed opportunity.

The Penguin is available on the Max platform from September 20.

• Watch the series trailer:

Conclusion