robert3750

Such an interesting portrayal, so radically different from previous ones. The first thing you have to do is COMPLETELY forget about previous portrayals of this character. This is NOT a comical portrayal in any sense of the word, or in any other way, shape, or form. Neither is there any pathos, any portrayal of a poorly understood misfit. IOW, none of the modern nonsense that tries to turn villains into victimized antiheroes (Disney's Maleficent is an example). Oswald Cobblepot is EVIL, thoroughly and completely. He is essentially a psychopath, interested in only one thing: Himself. This is made clear in one of the later episodes, where we see his actions as a boy. All other characters are only means to validate himself, or means to achieve his ends. There is no level of trust he won't betray, no confidence he won't break, no murderous act he won't commit, as long as it suits him to do so. At one point he says to another character that there is no right or wrong, only the struggle to survive.

Colin Farrell's portrayal is outstanding. I've never seen an actor "disappear" more thoroughly into a character. This is aided by a fantastic physical transformation from a good looking actor into a grotesque, repulsive villain. The Penguin walks with a pronounced limp, explained (and shown) by a birth defect, a club foot. It's this limp that gives him the characteristic "waddle". The Penguin inhabits a gritty, noirish Gotham, full of corruption, murder, and violence. People speak with a tough Brooklyn/New Jersey accent, and there are Mafiaesque crime families as well as Asian gangs engaged in crime. Batman is nowhere to be seen. The focus is on the criminals, one of whom is the other main character, Sophia Falcone, the daughter of the head of a crime family, played brilliantly by Cristin Miloti. We see her backstory, showing exactly what made her into the ruthless gangster who wants to rule Gotham. But she'll have to overcome the Penguin to do it. I like how the characters are given dimensionality, giving us insight into what makes them tick. It's all very well written and acted.

The season ends with us being shown that Batman IS around, and ready to act. We want him to.

This is one of the well remembered SF films of the 50s. Its plot meshed well with the flying saucer scares that were prevalent at the time. The direction is good and taught, with no unnecessary scenes. We get a good sense of the characters and their motivations. The dialogue is snappy and on point, as we see the conflict between the no nonsense military men and the scientist who wants to "understand" the alien menace (viewing aliens as a menace was commonplace. Two exceptions were It Came From Outer Space and The Day the Earth Stood Still). He falsely equates scientific knowledge with wisdom. The film ends with the admonition to "keep watching the skies", again in keeping with the mood of the time.