Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: The Batman Epic Crime Saga

  • Review: ‘The Penguin’, Episode 1 -“After Hours”

    Review: ‘The Penguin’, Episode 1 -“After Hours”

    When Matt Reeves‘ The Batman hit theaters in 2022, it was clear that the Gotham which Robert Pattinson‘s Batman sought to protect had a long, dark and sordid past. Corruption ran so deep in Gotham that it might rightly be believed to be a cornerstone of the great city. So strong was the foothold of organized crime in Gotham that the crime families and their goons were entitled and emboldened to carry out their crimes while still considering themselves good men.

    Despite being as warped as the foot that caused his Penguin pimp limp, Falcone family capo Oz Cobb believed himself to be one of those good men. Colin Farrell’s portrayal of Oz in The Batman demanded a follow-up performance which has now hit Max in the form of the limited streaming series, The Penguin. And the series pulls no punches about its lead character nor does it provide any quarter for a man who finds himself in a mess of his own making.

    If The Penguin weren’t known to be a spinoff set in Reeves‘ Batman Epic Crime Saga, it would be as unrecognizable as a comic book-based property as its star is in the lead role. The Penguin shares far more in common with any number of HBO’s prestige crime dramas and Episode 1, “After Hours”, embraces that legacy. It goes full gangster right away and it looks as though the series will benefit from its forthright approach as an exploration of the world of organized crime and the types of people who inhabit it.

    Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
    -Salvador Dali

    Central to Episode 1 and presumably the series are Farrell‘s Cobb and Cristin Milioti‘s Sofia Falcone. Oz wastes no time in unintentionally making an enemy out of Sofia and much of the first episode is spent with Oz apparently spinning his wheels. However, the true brilliance of the episode comes in its closing moments. In his own words, Cobb knows he inhabits a world of big men who need to believe he’s small…and so he allows them their fantasies, using his rough appearance and demeanor to serve as a facade for an ingenious criminal mind. And by episode’s end, Cobb has engineered the rise of the Maroni family he once took down and set himself up as all nut untouchable.

    Thematically, ambition is at the episode’s core and from Cobb’s words to his new partner in crime, Vic, to the 9 to 5 needle drop, there’s no chance it can be forgotten. Cobb’s ambition is second to none and now, with his brilliant mind free to cook, his time has come. Every bit as ambitious as its title character, The Penguin is as intelligent, violent and grounded in the human condition as the great HBO dramas it aspires to be.

  • Episode Titles & Runtimes for the First Four Episodes of ‘The Penguin’ Have Leaked

    Episode Titles & Runtimes for the First Four Episodes of ‘The Penguin’ Have Leaked

    As DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran continue putting the finishing touches on Creature Commandos, the first project of the all-new, all-different DCU era, one of the studio’s Elseworlds projects that survived that change in direction at the WBD is nearing its premiere. The Penguin–an interquel to Matt Reeves‘ The Batman and The Batman Part II–will debut on HBO and Max on Thursday, September 19th, with new episodes then debuting on Sunday nights beginning on September 29th.

    This thrilling crime drama follows Oswald “Oz” Cobb’s quest for control in Gotham City. With the city in peril following the seawall’s collapse, Oz (Oscar® nominee Colin Farrell) seeks to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone and finally give his mother Francis (Deirdre O’Connell) the life he’s always promised. But first, Oz must confront his enemies, including Carmine’s children, Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) and Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen); the Maroni family, led by their imprisoned patriarch, Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown); and Oz’s own demoralizing reputation as “The Penguin.”

    -Official Synopsis for The Penguin

    Part of The Epic Batman Crime Saga, The Penguin is an eight-episode series that follows Colin Farrell‘s Oz through the immediate aftermath of the events of The Batman. With the series premiere just around the corner, members of the media have begun screening early episodes and, as a result, the titles and runtimes of the first four episodes of the series have leaked.

    Nothing about the episode titles for showrunner Lauren LeFranc’s series seems too spoilery; however, the episode lengths are fairly notable. Whereas Marvel Studios is often criticized by fans for rolling out streaming episodes that are too short, HBO is giving The Penguin the prestige treatment, with runtimes similar to series such as House of the Dragon or True Detective. As revealed by runtime go-to-guy Cryptic HD Quality, the first episode of The Penguin will eclipse the hour mark while each of the next three will come in just under it.

    With the follow-up to 2022’s The Batman set to enter into production next year and not expected in theaters until 2026, The Penguin looks to be serving up an impressive 8ish hours of content to bridge the gap!

    About The Penguin

    Starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka The Penguin), the eight-episode HBO Original limited series from DC Studios continues the epic crime saga that filmmaker Matt Reeves began with the global blockbuster The Batman. The cast also includes Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Michael Zegen, Carmen Ejogo and Theo Rossi.

    Based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, The Penguin is produced by 6th & Idaho Productions and Dylan Clark Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers, Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, Lauren LeFranc, Craig Zobel, Bill Carraro, and Daniel Pipski; writer and showrunner, Lauren LeFranc.