Review: ‘The Penguin’ is like ‘Joker,’ only good

It’s hard to imagine The Penguin could reach the same heights as 2022’s The Batman. Still, the spinoff series proves Matt Reeves has crafted the best live-action version of Gotham City yet.

Looking back, The Batman’s success feels like a miracle. When the movie hit theaters, Warner Bros. Discovery had been struggling for years with the DC adaptations, slowly eroding public trust. Almost every film since Batman v Superman had gathered negative reviews or become a box office disappointment – more than often, both. Plus, the promise of delivering a grounded version of the Dark Knight mythos sounded unoriginal, as both Christopher Nolan and Todd Phillips had threaded that path before. Finally, the fanbase was skeptical about Robert Pattinson getting the role of Bruce Wayne.

Nevertheless, The Batman exceeded every expectation, kicking off a film trilogy and multiple spinoff series. To say that was a risky plan would be an understatement, as Warner’s mass production approach to DC projects failed time and time again. However, The Penguin is much more than a simple cash grab. Despite being a direct sequel to The Batman, trying to capitalize on the movie’s positive reception, The Penguin is peak television.

Following the death of crime lord Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) in The Batman, Gotham City’s criminal underworld has been turned upside down, with different players trying to grab a piece of the profitable drug business. Furthermore, the Riddler’s (Paul Dano) terrorist attacks have exposed the city’s systemic corruption, leaving a trail of death and destruction that has sowed despair and increased the demand for pain-relieving narcotics. With this chaotic background, The Penguin explores Oswald Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) journey to become Gotham City’s kingpin.

The show’s premise allows showrunner and writer Lauren LeFranc to deepen the themes of The Batman. Reeves has used one of the world’s most beloved superheroes to discuss how social inequality is at the root of criminality. The Batman is also brave enough to condemn Bruce Wayne’s privileges and reflect on how Batman’s rage is ultimately a tool to punish the poverty-stricken masses. It’s no wonder Batman’s journey in the movie leads the Dark Knight to accept that he must become a symbol of hope instead of fear. 

Likewise, The Penguin explores the class divide within Gotham City’s organized crime, with Oz donning the mantle of a revolutionary, challenging the establishment of traditional crime families, such as the Falcones and Maronis. Such a concept asks for comparisons with Phillips Joker, another origin story for a classic Batman villain that deals with Gotham’s inability to offer its citizens a decent life. However, The Penguin avoids all the traps that turned Phillips’ take on the Clown Prince of Crime so divisive despite its billionaire box office. The Penguin takes the time to explore the nuances of social injustice instead of just creating a simplistic “us vs them” narrative that favors its protagonist. As a result, Farrell’s Penguin can be a sympathetic character while never being mistaken for a hero.

The Penguin‘s biggest triumph is that it allows all its characters to rise and fall through their own means. There’s no way to play the money game without getting your hands dirty since the system is rigged in favor of the status quo. On top of that, trauma helps define who people become. That doesn’t mean people don’t get to choose, and regardless of how The Penguin’s characters try to justify their actions, they are still actively harming the city, their allies, and innocent bystanders. All the prominent names in Gotham City’s underworld convince themselves their purpose is noble: revenge, tradition, prosperity, family. But sooner or later, the series will drag their faces in the mud, forcing them to confront the consequences of their actions. 

A character-driven TV show is only as strong as its cast, another reason The Penguin is so damn good. Farrell delivers the best acting of his career, expressing complex feelings even through all the prosthetics used to turn him into a deformed gangster. Oz’s main competition, Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone, is equally enthralling, using her mesmerizing eyes to reflect all the pain and anger at the core of her character. Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor Aguillar, in turn, serves as a welcome anchor for the audiences, showing how an average person might be pushed into a world of violence once life gets desperate enough.

The Penguin has too many great performances to count – Carmen Ejogo, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Michael Kelly deserve a nod. Still, Deirdre O’Connell stands out as Francis Cobb, the Penguin’s mother. O’Connell is given the challenging task of bringing to life a strong woman progressively losing the battle against dementia, on top of being the guiding force to a dangerous mobster. The star not only excels at the task, but she makes it look easy. While only a supporting character, O’Connell constantly steals the show, and her tragic arc only makes Francis even more memorable.

As a series planned for weekly release, The Penguin is also favored by its incredible pacing. Each episode is a new chapter in a story filled with twists and turns, as uneasy alliances are forged and betrayals suddenly move the plot in unexpected directions. This is a show about sly criminals trying to outsmart one another, so things rarely go according to plan. Of course, that’s part of the fun, as there’s no way to know who’ll be left standing at the series finale except the titular character.

Moreover, the absence of the Dark Knight doesn’t hurt the series, as some might dread. On the contrary, the street-level nature of The Penguin’s drug war justifies Batman being elsewhere –  even more since the World’s Greatest Detective is tasked with cleaning the Riddler’s mess at the end of The Batman.

Without Batman lurking in the shadows, The Penguin can explore the aftermath of a superhero clash from the perspective of the average Joe, keeping the focus on the people of Gotham and their struggles. In addition, it’s just delicious to see seasoned mobsters jumping at each other’s throats without a good-doer stepping in to solve the conflict before it escalates. Finally, it’s terrific to know that the version of Gotham City that Reeves imagined can be the stage for different stories, whether bat-infested or not.

Another reason to praise The Penguin is that it’s more concerned with story than connectivity. The TV show is unquestionably part of Reeves’ Bat-universe but it can also be watched independently. The Penguin never feels like homework to understand a future project, a disease plaguing too many superhero productions nowadays. So, while it leaves breadcrumbs behind The Batman 2 will surely follow, The Penguin is first and foremost a gritty mob tale that works even when stripped of its DC connections. Not many superhero shows can claim this feat, which hopefully will help The Penguin get the massive audience ratings it deserves.