The Penguin Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Here: Watch First Clip

The first batch of reviews for The Penguin starring Colin Farrell are here and they are overwhelmingly positive.

Warner Bros. has also released the first clip from The Batman spinoff series featuring a look at Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone. Watch that below.

With 46 reviews, The Penguin Rotten Tomatoes Score is at 93%, which is even better than The Batman movie’s 85% score. The Popcornmeter (formerly the Audience Score) will be made available when the series gets released next Thursday.

What do the reviews say?

According to the reviews, standouts in the series include Colin Farrell’s performance. Critics widely agree that Farrell’s portrayal of Oz Cobblepot is transformative and extraordinary, with many claiming it could be Emmy-worthy. His nuanced performance makes him one of the greatest live-action comic book villains, they said.

Cristin Milioti’s role as Sofia Falcone is also frequently mentioned often, even rivaling Farrell’s performance. Her portrayal of Sofia Falcone is noted for being both charming and brutally intense, with several reviewers suggesting she almost steals the show.

The series is celebrated for its complex characters and gripping narrative. Reviewers appreciated how the show delves into character-driven stories while maintaining a gritty and violent crime drama feel, drawing comparisons to The Sopranos.

The show’s atmosphere is heavily praised, capturing the dark, corrupt underbelly of Gotham in a grounded, street-level gangster drama. It expands upon the world of The Batman without feeling too reliant on Batman’s presence.

Many view The Penguin as high-quality television, blending gangster genre elements with comic book lore. The series’ art direction, writing, and pacing are noted as creating a compelling, binge-worthy experience.

The three lone negative reviews offer:

The dourness is exhausting and the pace creeping. For all Farrell and Milioti’s efforts, this spin-off is not quite worth anyone getting their flippers in a twist over. – Daily Telegraph UK

All that latex prevents Farrell from accessing his innate charisma. And it’s a Mob drama with a lot of carnage, but lacking a compelling or complex enough character at the center of all its mayhem. – Rolling Stone

Like entirely too many shows of this type, it treats us to cycles to colorful threats, sadistic torture, predictable betrayals and subsequent body disposals, delivered with professional polish but not enough creativity. – THR

The Penguin premiers on Sept. 19 on HBO and Max.