This post is a little late due to some scheduling conflicts but better late than never. I will begin by saying there will be spoilers.....
She steals a jug of milk and then fails attempting to go unnoticed pick-pocketing a wallet... Selina then to avoid capture runs off into an alley where we encounter the all too familiar tragic story which sparks the eventual Gotham revolution and birth of the Dark Knight. So it officially begins ... the new detective series "Gotham".
When I first heard rumors about this series over a year ago I was very intrigued. I'm not going to lie I have no qualms with creative takes on classic comic folklore. So "here we go" to quote the Joker...
Although the Wayne murder necessary to the story I couldn't help but feeling it being repetitive considering that we are just off the heels of the Dark Knight Trilogy. I'm glad they got it over right away. I'm hoping we can skip the Batman origin story all together in the upcoming film "Dawn of Justice". There a few subtle changes to Batman's origin in the Gotham pilot, or that's what this series seems to imply, which I really have no problem with. I'm not that Sacro-Sanc with origins and enjoy different takes on comic stories. The first change was Selina Kyle's presence at and witnessing of the robbery and murder of the Waynes. The other change which may not be so subtle, pending how things pan out, is the hint that Carmen Falcone hired someone to kill the Waynes. I have a theory about Falcone and the Wayne murder, which I'm going to keep quiet about for now, but I see the potential for a really cool plot twist.
Following the Wayne Murder, at the crime scene we meet Mr Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), who is coming to pickup and comfort Master Wayne. Alfred seemed different than previous incarnations of the Character. He seems more of a tougher and no nonsense Alfred. There is a scene where he swears at Bruce as well, which could be argued as being out of Character. I couldn't quite place Alfred's accent either so that little detail threw me off a tad.
We continue with Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock who are called to the scene to investigate. Young Jim is a naive and trusting cop who proves early in the story to be a honest cop. Harvey Bullock is a man sitting on the fence trying to protect his neck and playing it safe by appeasing to the powers that be. He is accepting of the corruption in Gotham and is cozy with some shady characters and would rather appease the system in place then challenge and fight the current order. Actually Donal Logue plays the role well because Harvey is suppose to be a jerk to put it mildly and he comes across quite convincing. In terms of acting, I think both Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue were good choices. Some of the other actors, well lets just give it a little more time before sentencing anyone to character assasination, figuratively speaking.
Shortly after we are also introduced to Barbara Kean. Barbara and Jim are dating. Barbara, who later in the Batman Arc becomes Batgirl and Jim's wife, is already showing signs of having something up her sleeve. Barbara and one of the Gotham Major Crimes Units detectives Renee Montoya seem to have a past connection of some sort. Montoya's partner Crispus is also introduced as a strong headed Lieutenant who Harvey and Gordon early on in the episode are competing over cases with.
I thought Robin Lord Taylor's portrayal of Oswald Cobblepot was great. He was creepy and looks like he will be slightly insane, but there is also a certain sympathy you feel for him. I am looking forward to his character development. My real hope for the first season is that the story will focus on his transformation to the Penguin. Early on you already see him being portrayed as a sort of nerdy villain who other criminals don't exactly have a strong respect for. He seems sort of misplaced in the world he is surrounded by. I think this will play well into his transformation into the Penguin character who other henchmen in the underworld he is a part of are already teasing him as. He makes the point on a number of occasions that he doesn't want to be called "Penguin" and sort of comes across as the kid in the school yard being bullied by people. My thoughts are that after certain events transpire in the first few episodes and not being taken seriously as a threat he will take on the name Penguin as a way of empowering the name Penguin (and himself) and exacting revenge on those who thought he was weak. This is my favorite character so far in the show.
Gotham also treats us to a brand new character: Fish Mooney. I am always game for a new villian and Fish doesn't disappoint. I don't know how much longevity this character will hold as her and Carmen Falcone seem to be a little at odds. It would be interesting to see her developed more and I personally wouldn't mind seeing her make way to some of the DC Comic Lines. Fish is a crime boss who Harvey Bullock seems to have an on going relationship with. Jada Pinkett plays this ruthless villian rather well. There isn't much to know at this point other than she is a feared leader in the Gotham underworld, but not one quite powerful enough to challenge Carmen Falcone. Although I'm pretty certain she will give Falcone a run for his money. In terms of back story we are probably going to have to wait a while to find out more about her background and how she came to be this formidable under lord. Fish is another strong character in the series so far and makes for a welcome addition to the Gotham world.
Midway through the Episode we are introduced to Carmen Falcone, who makes it clear that he is the Gotham Crime Boss. We also learn about his order and rule of law. There is also a scene where he introduces himself to newbie detective Gordon. We are given a bit of back story and learn that he and the Wayne's had a connection along with Gordon's father. Falcone is going to play an integral part to the story as we all know. It will be interesting to see how he is connected to the Wayne's death and in turn, how in this version of the Dark Knight Tale he will contribute to the birth of Batman.
The tone of the series overall seems to have a very dark theme. The cityscapes are very accurate to the tones in the comics. It just feels like Gotham. I would argue that this is probably the most comic accurate look that we have seen on film this far. The series also looks like it is going to be a lot more violent. There is a scene where Oswald is shown beating a man relentlessy that even Fish Mooneys henchmen have to tell him to give it a rest. He later also slits a mans throat open for a sandwich.
Other Villains who were hinted at are Poison Ivy, The Riddler, Catwoman, and the Joker. I am really fine if these characters play minor roles at this time and in future seasons take a stronger lead. I have no interest in seeing the Joker or Poison Ivy this early on. The are a few other easter eggs if you looked close but I'll save those for future posts.
As with all things Gotham it is inevitable that the Green Haired Clown will eventually make his way into the story line. The pilot didn't hesitate to tease a Joker appearance at some point in the series. Whether or not the comedian in the club will turn out to be the Joker or not we will see. I'm going to be honest I really don't need a Joker story this early in the series. As with Arrow and Shield (not comparing the two as equal just to be clear) it took a while to build up and get use to some of the actors. They also took their time to introduce certain villains but Fox seems to be taking a different route and the element of surprise which this far appears to be lacking may unfortunately be the way Gotham goes. I know we have just seen the pilot and I'm willing to give things time but I'm really hoping that Fox will play with our emotions a bit and make it difficult to determine who will be the Joker by introducing multiple actors who give hints at a potential Joker appearance. I'm not yet confident the short clip we saw of the comedian will be the right fit to dawn the cape of Batman's greatest villain. The Joker is such a pivital character to the Gotham world and I wouldn't wish the role on anyone. It is a really tough role to cast too and the right or wrong choice really will make or break this series. Some commentaries I have read have also indicated that we don't need an origin story for the Joker either. I'm not a part of the camp that subscribes to this notion. I for one would love to see someone take up that mantle and give us a back story to the mad man. I would even take it a step further and say that like NBC's Hannibel, which takes an in-depth look into an insane villain, I would love to see a solo Joker series. May be a longshot but hey a guy can dream...
Last but not least is Bruce Wayne played by David Mazouz. There isn't much to the character at this point but we do see that him and Jim Gordon are going to develop their relationship early on in this story Arc. Young Master Bruce does seem to be head strong and well spoken. He also seems to be exploring his emotions a little more in this story than other films we have seen. I will reserve judgement on this Bruce Wayne for now.
Four things after watching the pilot that I would like to see the show focus on are: Fish Mooney, Carmen Falcone, and Penguin. While I expect the series to continue to develop the villains we have seen this far, I really don't need an over abundance of characters in each episode. It would be nice to see the villians spread out over a few seasons but so far it doesn't seem like the direction Gotham will take. This is one of the problems I have with the series opener: there was too much going on. I didn't really feel it was necessary to introduce so many characters this early on. In particular I would have liked them to have introduced Falcone later on. I think build up and a little more suspense to his reveal would have been more effective and made him a little more menacing. One of the things with Arrow that made the show was the suspense around villains and their surprise appearances. Anyone familiar with the comic and movie stories will know who the villains are but with Arrow there was a lot of build up and you never knew who was going to show up next. With Gotham its almost like they shoe horned the characters in and just wanted to get introductions out of the way. Maybe this is how the series will run overall and I'm certain there will be twists we don't expect but a little more mystery and suspense would have been fun.
In Conclusion.....
Overall it was a good start to a new twist on the Gotham Tale. I do like the look of Gotham and feel they have hit the nail on the head with the art designs. There is a lot going on for one episode and I am hoping that this is a one off as it will be very hard to follow the series with so much going on. It may be simply that the producers wanted to get character introductions over with fast and move on to plot and character development in future episodes. The lead characters Jim, Harvey, Fish, Oswald all are strong leads and if the series continues to focus on them will in my opinion be successful. The other characters really aren't a big part to the story this far and to me don't need to be either. I look forward to the next few episodes which we show us Gotham's true colors! 7/10 is my rating.
