FilmSnobReviews

Show: Gotham
Title: Pilot
Network: Fox
Airtime: Monday, 8 pm
Starring: Ben Mackenzie, Donal Logue, Jada Pinkett-Smith

What It Is: In the aftermath of the Wayne murders rookie detective Jim Gordon (Mackenzie) and his curmudgeonly partner Harvey Bullock (Logue) as they look to solve the crime the seedy underbelly of this city…Gotham makes itself apparent. While surfing through the Theater District which is run by the untrustworthy Fish Mooney (Pinkett-Smith) Jim finds out just how deep the corruption rises. Bullock is a lost cause, and even the criminals are turning on each other. As the cops set up a common thief for the Wayne murders the man named Mario Pepper, a wife beater whose mean to his daughter Ivy. Turns out that Pepper was set up and Mooney’s assistant Oswald Cobblepot spilled the beans to the Major Crimes unit of the Gotham PD. Now with the Mooney after him for unraveling the setup, and a partner in Mooney’s pocket it seems all isn’t going so well for the rookie.

What We Think: Top notch acting all over the place. Whether it’s Mackenzie, or the always fantastic Logue there’s some good stuff here. Robin Lord Taylor plays Cobblepot with a completely different spin then anything we’ve seen before. He’s just got this look about him that screams do not trust this man. Jada Pinkett-Smith as Mooney was neither here not there but I will say I’m completely intrigued by how this shows going to flesh out. There’s a lot of directions they could  take this thing. Furthering the corruption angle I believe will be paramount to most of the plot points going forward.

Our Grade: B+, Solid start let’s hope that continues. Some of the character introductions were clunky. Poison Ivy felt forced, and Cat…girl didn’t do much directly. While others like Edward “The Riddler” Nigma sees to integrate themselves into the story fittingly. Nigma as a forensics specialist with a penchant for riddles and guessing games, the aforementioned Cobblepot. There was also a subtle allusion with a comedian in Mooney’s dive who was cracking jokes. Can’t wait for next week to see where they go. I’m looking  very much forward to it.