The Penguin (2024) Review

After 8 Episodes, we have finally made it to the end of The Penguin and I have watched all of the episodes and here is my review for DC's newest show. The premise of the show sees after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb looks to take his spot as the head of the crime families and deals with the trials of tribulations for this. 

Main Character

Colin Farrell is back as Oz Cobb and he is truly amazing here. He is unrecognisable and this is a brilliant interpretation of the character. The show does a fantastic job in making you support and root for this bad character and Farrell is a huge part of this. This is a really strong lead performance and is a huge step up from his already great performance in The Batman. 

Supporting Characters

Cristin Milioti plays Sofia Falcone and for me she is the star of this show and gives one of the best performances that I have ever seen in a comic book property. You really get an insight into her character and the way she thinks and works and I genuinely felt sorry for her. Milioti is superb and this is a mesmerising performance that should be challenging at The Emmys. 

Rhenzy Feliz plays Victor and I really liked his character and the development he goes through this season. He builds up this relationship with Oz and it allows him to become more confident in his life and he portrays that really well on screen. 

Deidre O'Connell plays Francis Cobb and this is a really strong performance that adds a lot of value to the show, especially as the show progresses. Her character gets a tonne of development over the show and they expand on her relationship with Oz really well. 

The rest of the cast are also fantastic and everyone really delivers on being an amazing cast of characters. 

Story

The story is fantastic as we see the ambition and rise of these 3 characters Oz, Victor & Sofia and it is handled wonderfully. The strong performances and strong writing really progress the plot well and shows how the gang world is interreacting in this new Gotham. The ending of the series is really brilliant and dark and feels really appropriate for this shows tone and themes. 

Script

This show has fantastic writing and creates nuanced characters that blur the lines between good and evil. This world has been built up so well and I loved the mix of drama and really dark humour that was nailed on. 

Style

The style of this show continues the artistic feel from The Batman and it does it so well. It is dark, gritty but also quite beautiful, the cinematography makes Gotham feel like another character and why these characters stay here. The show holds nothing back in terms of violence and that absolutely worked for this show and added that extra layer. 

Overall

Overall, The Penguin is one of the best Comic Book shows ever created and I loved The Penguin. It is an amazing watch and should be seen by everybody, especially fans of Batman characters. This is going to be hard to be topped and is the new standard bearer for other shows in its genre. 

Rating - 10/10

The Batman (2022) Review

After many years The Batman has finally made its way to the Cinema and I managed to get to the cinema and watch it and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a Batman in the early part of his career having to take on a new foe which will push him to new levels and makes him question his whole motivations. 

Main Character

There was plenty of controversy when Robert Pattinson was cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman but I actually had high hopes and I have to say I thought he did a really good job. He sold the pretty new Batman well, he is probably the most aggressive version of the character and you just feel the intensity radiating off of him. But there is real development here and I feel like the version we meet at the beginning of the film compared to the one at the end has changed quite a bit and it is well handled. This is very much a Batman film and thus sees him less as Bruce Wayne but when he is, it works well enough it just isn't the focus of the film. 

Supporting Characters

Zoe Kravitz plays Selina Kyle/Catwoman and she is great. The dynamic between the two of them is really well handled and I really enjoyed watching her character develop as there are some really interesting story parts with her. Paul Dano plays The Riddler and they do an amazing job with this character. He is like a horror character and seeing him go about his mission is fascinating and he was the perfect villain for this film, his motivations were really well executed and this is redemption for this great character. Jeffery Wright plays James Gordon and this is another stellar depiction of the character, he is tough but fair and I really liked the partnership between him and Batman. Despite their relationship being quite new there is clear trust and respect between the two of them. Colin Farrell plays The Penguin and despite being caked in prosthetics it is a really strong character, it feels honest to the comics and creates this really cool mob character that fits well in this universe. 

Story 

The story is expertly handled, this is a true detective story. For the first time really in film, it feels like Batman is a proper detective and this mystery kept me guessing and the twists and turns were really effective. There are so many characters and plot points here that I was worried it was going to be too much, but it all fits together really well and nothing felt out of place to me and that was a really impressive piece of storytelling to me. 

Script

The script is extremely grim and this is no doubt the darkest Batman film we have ever seen. But it really fit this film and I was fine with it, this film writes all of its characters really well and keeps the film progressing in a really interesting and for me captivating way. 

Style 

The film has an amazing style, Gotham has never looked better, it is so bleak and grey that it feels like it is ripped straight from the comic books. The harder hitting action is so well done and makes Batman way more brutal and less reliant on gadgets which feels extremely fitting for the story that was being told here. Yes, the film is 3 hours but I thought the film was paced really well and I was never bored. There wasn't anything that I thought should have been cut or trimmed down and fair play to Matt Reeves as a director who did an amazing job here. 

Overall

Overall, The Batman is a truly special comic book film that I loved. Fans of Batman will love it and it is a must watch, I am not saying this film is as good as The Dark Knight but it is pretty close and that is great to see for the character of Batman in 2022. 

Rating - 10/10