Penguin Review

It's a bold story to set amid the backdrop of Gotham City, and "The Penguin" proves you don't need a cape and cowl to tell it. Full season screened for review. Episodes air weekly on HBO with the premiere on Thursday night, September 19th before moving to Sundays, starting September 22nd.

They will be on Max the next day. Explore critic and audience reviews for The Penguin: Limited Series on Rotten Tomatoes. Uncover scores, opinions, and ratings.

Critics call Colin Farrell's Penguin one of the best comic book villain performances ever in rave reviews Farrell leads the limited series, which serves as an origin story to his Gotham mob boss. 'The Penguin' Review: The Dark Blight The HBO series starring an unrecognizable Colin Farrell is further proof that there is no fun in the Batman universe. Wait: Another Batman-without-Batman show? Yep.

And its willingness to step outside of the comics to dig under the surface makes it one of the best shows of the year. The first episode of The Penguin really sets the tone: This isn't really a Batman show, it's a Gotham gangster series. This is The Sopranos with DC characters.

Colin Farrell's Oswald. The Penguin is always giving speeches like this, laying out his worldview for easy consumption by viewers who might spend most episodes scrolling on their phones as the audio washes over them. Critics are raving about The Penguin following its debut on HBO and Max, with praise going to Colin Farrell's performance.

"The Penguin" doesn't reinvent the genre by any means, but it manages to grow beyond most comic book TV adaptations with a dark, violent, and grim portrayal. The Batman spin-off crime drama centres on Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot, seizing control in Gotham. Read the Empire review.