The Penguin

Colin Farrell has done for Penguin what Heath Ledger did for Joker......... GAMECHANGER ! MASTERFUL! ICONIC !!

I wouldn't have thought it for this role, but Colin Farrell has just turned in the.performance of his career with an incredible interpretation of Penguin. This will go down in history in the same way Heath Ledgers Joker changed that character.

If he doesn't clean up as Best Actor for the Golden Globes, SAG awards and everywhere else, there is no appreciation of how the producers, script writers and the incredible makeup team helped Colin Turin in this incredible performance that will be a hallmark of his career and the benchmark role of Penguin for the next 3 generations.

P. S. (I don't really write reviews ever. This performance has me typing because I am so impressed !

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.

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.

I thought Colin Farrell was great as Penguin in the Batman, but i have never understood casting a skinny good looking fit actor and putting him in massive prosthesis and a fat suit...especially when i kind of think he looks like some other famous actors who would also have been just as good. I also really didn't get why this spinoff was coming, and to be honest am just tired of Batman reboots. But after episode 1 i will confirm this show to be amazing (so far). I only watched it know it was a necessary to watch bridge between the first and second movies, and my surprise enjoyment of Farrell in the role in the first one. But i wasn't expecting to like it nearly this much. The acting is terrific, the writing is superb, and it surpised me with some quick twists. The biggest thing that i liked was the fact that there was so much more color in this than in the Batman. I noticed it almost immediately, as it was a huge complaint for me about the movie (it felt like watching it through a Zack Snyder lense). I hope this keeps being as good as it goes along because i genuinely cant wait until the next episode.

Farrell STEALS this series. He's impressive. There is nothing in the character that even hints of Farrell. The NY dialect, the sway and limp, the attitude : you'd swear it was another person. The amazing prosthetics are very realistic and adds to the character.

The show is gritty and graphic. There is nothing cartoonish about it. Well-written and taut. This makes a great counterpart to Christopher Nolan's Batman. In fact, I'd say this blows Marvel's line out of the water.

I'm hoping that their might be a season 2, but I know that this is limited. It's a shame. HBO has a legitimate hit on their hands.