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The Penguin (2024)

2024 · Crime,Drama · mob-organized-crime, contemporary-realistic

The Penguin poster

The Penguin is a gritty, prestige HBO crime drama set in the semi-destroyed Gotham City following the events of Matt Reeves' The Batman, following Oz Cobb's ruthless climb through the criminal underworld. The show strips away superhero spectacle in favor of Scorsese-inflected mob politics, backstabbing alliances, and a villain-protagonist study that refuses easy sympathy. Colin Farrell's physically and vocally unrecognizable performance is the engine, matched by Cristin Milioti as an equally formidable antagonist. Dark, violent, and atmospherically dense, it rewards viewers who want character-driven crime drama over action-spectacle — closer in texture to The Sopranos than to any Marvel or DC property.

From the reviewers

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.
Colin Farrell has done for Penguin what Heath Ledger did for Joker......... GAMECHANGER ! MASTERFUL! ICONIC !!
the makeu/cgi or whatever exactly they did with transforming him into the penguin physically not only passes the eye test, it looks incredible realistic. There is always the risk that if the make up job isn't good enough or is just a little off, it can completely distract. In the penguin, it adds to his performance
This isn't your typical DC or Marvel show, it's a full on gangster series.
Farrell brings layers to the character, moving beyond the stereotypical villain portrayal. His Oswald Cobblepot is shrewd, manipulative, and ready to break bones, yet he's also a man driven by a deep-rooted inferiority complex and desire for respect.

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