Review of "The Penguin"

Matt Reeves is changing Batman in the best way possible. My favorite Batman movie had always been Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight”. But recently a friend told me that they think the new “The Batman” by Matt Reeves is better and the best Batman film ever made. Batman is a classic superhero and has been a fan favorite for decades. Tim Burton’s Batman films are the most creative Batman movies and the Penguin in “Batman Returns” played by Danny DeVito will always be iconic as he really is half man half penguin. The “Gotham” television series narration of the Penguin played by Robert Taylor Lord is the most digestible one as the origin story that Bruno Heller wrote is quite simple. Colin Farrells version of the Penguin in the television series “The Penguin” written by Lauren LeFranc is superior for many reasons. The biggest one is the back story with his family, the tragic death of his two brothers. Finding out later that Oswald was the reason his brothers died made his character more sinister. The other giant reason is that I found myself as a viewer rooting for Oswald Cobb in the first couple of episodes. I felt bad for him in a sense and with all the other adaptations of the Penguin I never had pity for them.

Every single episode of “The Penguin” on MAX had me literally gripping my seat, waiting to see what crazy thing would happen next. Having such a great actor like Colin Farrell play a disgusting villain was a genius choice. They transformed Farrell’s good looks into the bird looking wise guy that Oswald Cobb is. The character of Victor Aguilar was also a special touch to the Penguins character. As a viewer you think that Oswald’s character is developing into something decent when he befriends young Victor, an orphan from the result of The Riddlers destruction to the sea walls in Gotham. The audience felt for Victor because he had tragically lost his family and was honestly all around a good guy. I knew that Oswald would eventually kill Victor but the way it happened was truly heart wrenching. “The Penguin” was a terrific show and it was everything I expected it to be. I enjoyed Sofia Falcone’s character as well and the Arkham flashback giving us more to expect from “Batman Part 2” by Matt Reeves. The last episode connecting Selina Kyle to Sofia’s character and having us see the Bat signal was absolutely brilliant. I am very much looking forward to what is next in the Batman trilogy that Reeves is creating.