User Reviews

This review will analyze all the aspects about the first episode of Gotham, and it will also give us an insight into the show.

The concept of this series is very good, that is the beginning of terrorism in the messed up city of Gotham. Detective James 'Jim' Gordon, is new in the GCPD and he has promised young Bruce Wayne that he would find the person who murdered his parents. On the pursuit of the killer, he finds out the corruption that takes place in the city and how the police, government and the mafia are linked. The show also shows how certain super-villains will rise into power. Can Detective Gordon clean this mess? We'll find out

CAST: Ben McKenzie is perfect as Detective Gordon, as his portrayal as an honest man who is out to stop the corruption of the city has been portrayed effectively. Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock also makes a good support cast. Special mention goes to Robin Lord Taylor who portrays Oswald Cobblepot (aka Penguin) who has just started his career as an amateur criminal. David Mazouz also plays a brilliant role as the young, horror struck Bruce Wayne who is trying to conquer his fear after the brutal murder of his parents.10/10

STORY: The story of this pilot episode was really good as I really liked the concept of this portrayal of the dark city of Gotham and some of the super-villains, which you can see in the episode itself. 8/10

DIRECTION: Could have been better in executing the brilliant storyline this has. I felt that this department was a bit weak in putting all the pieces of the puzzle properly. 7/10

MUSIC AND BGM: I did not find any catchy music or BGM in the pilot episode. 6/10

EDITING: The editing of this episode was pretty decent. The scenes have a build up in them, though some scenes were just too quick. 8/10

FINAL VERDICT: Gotham Pilot Episode lets the viewer think about whats going to happen next and makes us wait to know more, which is a good sign. For all the Batman fans, I guess it will not disappoint and we are expecting lots of fun in the remaining episodes. Overall 7.8/10

Usually with new TV shows, they spend much of the first episode setting up their main characters and plugging as many easter eggs as they can to ensure viewer-ship. Gotham is much of the same. I thoroughly enjoyed the pilot and hope that it continues down the dark path that it promises.

The show is a completely new rendition of Gotham's history, and is a prequel to everything Batman. Except of course, his classic rogues gallery. He has the quintessential rogues gallery of all comic book heroes. Hence this episode hinting at at least 5 possible antagonists for the show. With that said i was hoping it wouldn't veer too much into name dropping (Agents of Shield) and keep the cameos to a minimum. I thought a few of the characters weren't necessary for the first episode but none of them seemed completely out of place.

The episode begins with the Wayne murders and introduces us to the duo of Gordon and Bullock. It is a different take on Jim Gordon than we are used to. He's younger, cockier, and much less experienced than the Gary Oldman Gordon from the trilogy. But i liked both Mckenzie and Logue's performances and overall i thought the cast was great. From the trailers it seemed like everyone looked the part but it's nice to see they can also walk the talk. Penguin to me was the big stand out. Robin Taylor gave us a fresh take but it also felt true to the comic book character as well. You can begin to see the menacing and troubled man he will become. Selina Kyle, played by Camren Bicondova was also solid in a non-speaking role so far. She didn't have much to do but just her costume and overall look was enough to sell me for now.

I wasn't a huge fan of Fish Mooney at first. I almost think you could have just begun with the Falcone or Maroney family as the lead villains. Or perhaps it was just Smith's over-the-top performance that turned me off. She did grow on me as the episode passed but i'm very intrigued to see how they change up the Wayne murder, as it is already much different than the comics. So in all i thought it was a great start to one of the falls most anticipated shows. It's also worth mentioning David Mazouz brilliant new take on Bruce Wayne. He showed true emotion in his few scenes with Gordon. The young actor has definite promise. Let's see where this show goes.

+Dark and rainy Gotham

+Fresh take on several characters

+Robin Taylor's menacing Penguin

+David Mazouz

+Right amount of easter eggs

-Mooney was over-the-top

-Wayne Murder changes?

8.6/10

I welcome and love the new story line. I was completely immersed about 7 minutes in. It could use a better script and dialogue's. Although there were some cheesy lines from Bullock and there should have been better lines from Alfred, the story line was good enough. I love the fact that some of Batman's enemies are also in it(I don't want to give away any spoilers). But I felt that the dialogue's were a little plain and lacked depth. The acting was a 'meh'. I don't think all the actors were perfect and amazing, but they were good. The creators could have made a full season from the first episode itself, but now I cant wait for the rest. There's really a lot going on in the first episode already. The visuals are amazing. The cinematography and set up for the show is perfect and spot on. It gives the series a subtle dark tone and pure Gotham feeling. This show isn't like any other cop drama, that's for sure. But, I would watch Law and Order over Gotham. I'm definitely going to come back for more for 2 reasons- 1.To see how Jim Gordon will get about his goals (still, no spoilers)(but it is obvious that he is going to fail and Batman is going to come and do it for him) 2.Because of that awesome teaser at the end.

And doesn't Jim Gordon wear glasses and have a mustache?

SPOILERS *********************************** I really don't care about what Gordon is going to do, I just want to watch Cat woman, The Penguin, The Riddler and Poison Ivy rise. ***********************************

Spoiler alert, (maybe).

I gave it a 6. If that seems low, it really isn't. Some have cited the "bad acting" or "overacting", but that's not it. I think the acting was melodrama, likely completely intentional, and used to dramatize the story as would have been done in the comics.

That aside, I'd say my problem with the story was that there just wasn't much of one. The writers decided to "create" an origin story that's already been known, from the inception of the Batman character, while the show supposedly isn't about Batman, but more about the city and it's denizens that helped to create the Bat.

Personally, I think the death of the Wayne's was introduced FAR too early. I would have thought that scene was more appropriate for either the season finale, the episode right before the season finale, or possibly as a mid season stunner. Putting the death of the Wayne's at the start of the show completely destroyed any suspense that could have been created in anticipation of that known event, and also violated the production's claim of the show not being about Batman, when I now see that it certainly is so.

Also, the pilot was full of ham-handed references to the source material, that in some cases really backfired. Referring to "Grundy Street" really only served to tell me that Solomon Grundy is not a character that we can ever hope to see featured on the show.

Featuring a lame comic on a stage, and forcing the viewer to ponder if he's meant to be The Joker was pretty stupid, partly for no other reason than the simple fact that The Joker is a singular figure, with no need for an "introduction". I see NO point in attempting to tell the origin story of The Joker as there really can be no appreciable description of the horrific circumstances that would have to exist in order for something as twisted and demented as The Joker to come to life. The Joker simply IS, and no dipshit comic telling OLD ASS JOKES is going to even BEGIN to foreshadow the inception of that character.

I really liked the cityscapes, they were beautifully shot, be they stock footage, or not, but there wasn't much else exciting to see. Overall, it just wasn't that good. In defense of the show, though, it was only the pilot, the rest of the season could be much better.

Gotham is a city awash in corruption and crime. In this city built on human suffering enters Detective James Gordon, a war hero who finds himself wrapped up in the recent murder of the city's most prominent couple: the Waynes. Along with his corrupt and reluctant partner Bullock, he begins to peel back the layers of crime in the city in an attempt to be the righteous man in an unjust place and time.

I'll start by saying that if DC properties are going to be massively exploited on both TV and film at the same time, this I feel is the best way to do it: with the TV version being a completely and distinctly different take on the material. So I like the way this project was approached. However the pilot episode was a rushed mash up of elements and characters, some of which might have worked if they hadn't crammed everything into the opening.

Before I launch into where this thing fell apart, I want to be fair and address what works. The show certainly looks terrific. The production values and visual quality is almost above reproach, though there are a few very stylized shots that feel a bit out of place. On the acting front the runaway highlight is Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin. Despite not matching the accepted body type, he's still able to bring a strong physical characterization to the part. He also is an interesting mix of the stock character of the sniveling backstabbing lackey and something much more vicious just below the surface of that. Jada Pinkett Smith also does good work as the original criminal middle management character of Fish Mooney. She brings a charisma and a sense of fun while also having some moments of real menace.

Unfortunately most of the other elements either don't add much or just don't work. Ben McKenzie as Gordon loses much of the subtlety that the character has when done properly. The most fascinating aspect of Gordon's early days, whether it be represented in "Batman Begins" or in the comics like "Batman: Year One," is that he was a good man and a good cop but that he had no illusions about the situation he was in. He knew the system was corrupt and that he couldn't change it, but he soldiered on and did the best he could under the circumstances. Now they've opted instead to load him with righteous indignation and make him fit the much more generic mold of "honest cop takes on the system head on," which just isn't nearly as nuanced or interesting.

There's another problem with taking this approach to Gordon. If he's going to take the corruption and crime head on like this then he either is doomed to fail or he undermines the mythos of this world. Because Gordon CAN'T win on his own, that's why the city needs Batman. So either audiences are going to watch him fail season after season until Batman shows up (who is barely a young teenager right now) or he wins and then the city doesn't need Batman in the first place.

Even scene to scene there are things that simply make no sense (spoilers follow.) When Gordon tells Bullock that he thinks the guy they killed and the Wayne murder was pinned on might have been innocent, Bullock freaks and says they could lose their jobs. This completely ignores the fact that Bullock shot the guy as he was about to stab Gordon with a knife, which makes it a 100% justified shooting regardless of whether or not he'd killed the Waynes. Then towards the end Gordon tells a young Bruce Wayne (who, to reiterate, is an angry teenager that Gordon really doesn't know at all) that he thinks the killer of the boy's parents is still alive, and then immediately says "But don't tell anybody." There is no logical reason for this conversation to take place. It's ham-fisted exposition at its worst, and it makes Gordon look like a naïve idiot.

The episode is also overstuffed and rushed. A number of characters are introduced in crow-barred fashion, Carmine Falcone is a good example, where it just would have made more sense to bring them in later at a point that made more logical sense for the story. Really the whole thing needs more breathing room: the episode should have only been the first half of this episode and ended with Gordon's realization of the frame-job. That would have allowed for the procedural aspects to be paid more than lip service, and for the overall pace to feel more measured and thoughtful. Part of that might be the general issue of pilot episodes, which have to work like hell to hook the audience to come back. So I'll grant that aspect might get better.

Right now though, catching subsequent episodes has become a very low priority. Really the only reason I'm thinking of coming back is to see the continued development of the Penguin. Based on the teaser for the next episode, the show seems to realize that right now he's the most interesting character. So from that starting place maybe it can be better down the line. It was a rough start out of the gate though.

There was no novelty in the opening episode. The pilot has laid the foundation but will it truly be a strong foundation and will this show break the shackles and become a masterpiece or will it languish and fade out after one season. I had great expectations from the pilot. I'm quite disappointed though. First of all cobblepot .. didn't seem to be menacing at all. Not at all like the penguin we've come to love and hate from the batman universe. Alfred.. too overbearing.. Alfred was never this overbearing and condescending.. plus that accent, too crass. There were a few holes as well. For eg, when Bullock and James go to Pepper's place to interview him, Pepper suspects they are there to arrest him for something else.. so he runs and then they chase him. Then another of those clichéd chase scenes through restaurants and staircases.. Meanwhile Pepper starts shooting at him. This means that he had something to hide. Finally James catches up to him and a fight ensues. Just as Pepper is about to kill him, Bullock appears out of nowhere and shoots him. James ran for quite a bit to catch up to Pepper. Bullock hasn't even broken a sweat nor does he look breathless. Then later when James confronts Bullock saying that Pepper was framed and they should do something about it, Bullock asks him to do nothing since he shot him. Of course he shot him, they had very good reason to shoot him, Pepper was shooting at them and was about to kill James. That's reason enough to shoot somebody when you are a cop. Later James goes alone to confront Mooney. Alone. Why would he go there alone without any backup. That's just silly. Then when he's strung up to be executed, Bullock conveniently turns up to save the day. A few minutes later he is strung up as well to be executed. Then just as they are about to be executed, Falcone turns up in the nick of time to save their skins. The saved just in time cliché. Well there was nothing original in the pilot. Lets hope the show picks up from here. Otherwise its just another cop drama with every known cliché.

Gotham Dizisi Benim İlgimi İsminden Çekmiştir Ama Azıcık Kuşkularım Vardı Gotham Atmosferini Ve Batman Karakterlerini Nasıl Yansıtacaklardı? Her Ne Kadar Bazı Karakterler Çizgi Romanlardakini Bize Tamamen GösteremedilerSe Başarılı Oyunculuklar Sergilediler Özellikle De Penguen İ Canlandıran Robin Lord Taylor. Taylor Penguen İ Farklı Yorumladı Ve Penguen Gibi Yürüyebilmek İçin Ayakkabısının İçine Şişe Koyup Yürüdü. Oyunculardan Sırasıyla Bahsedecek Olursak En Başta Catwomanın Küçüklüğünü Görüyoruz Tam Catwoman Havasını Bize Hisettiriyor Michelle Pfefier In Küçük Versiyonu Diyebilirim Catwomanı Canlandıran Oyuncu Camren Bicondova Catwoman Rolü İçin Batman 1966 Dizisini Ve Batman Dönüyor Filmini İzlemiş Sonraki Sekansda Küçük Catwoman Çatılara Tırmanıyor Ve Batmanin Batclaw Attığı Heykelleri Görüyoruz Sonra Bruce Wayne İn Ebeveynlerinin Ölümünü Bir Kere Daha İzliyoruz Farklı Bir Şekilde Bu Sefer Catwoman Bruce Un Ailesinin Ölümüne Şahit Oluyor Ve Katil Maskeli. Bruce Wayne İ David Mazouz Canlandırıyor James Gordonın Gençliğini Görüyoruz James Gordonu Canlandıran Oyuncu (The Oc) Den Ryan Atwood Olarak Tanıdığımız Benjamin Mckenzie Ve Gordonun Nişanlısı İlerde Batgirl İn Annesi Olan Barbara Kean İ (Erin Richards) Canlandırıyor Gordonu Harvey Bullock La Tanışırken Görüyoruz Bullock U Ghost Rider Ve Blade Adlı Filmden Tanıdığımız (Donal Logue) Olarak Görüyoruz The Riddler In Alt Benliği Olan Edward Nygma Yı Görüyoruz (Cory Michael Smith) Canlandırıyor Karakteri. James Gordon Wayne Lerin Katilini Yakalama Görevi Alıyor Bir Diğer Kötümüz İlerde Poison Ivy Olacak Ivy Pepper Babası Mario Pepper Bir Gangster Ve James Gordon Tarafından Öldürülüyor Gotham Dizisi İçin Yaratılmış Kötü Bir Karakterimizde Var İsmi Fish Mooney Kendisini (Will Smith) İn Eşi Olan Jada Pinkett Smith Canlandırıyor Ve Penguen İn Patronu Olarak İzliyoruz Pengueni Köle Olarak Kullanıyor Ve Penguen E Penguen Onu Polislere İspiyonladığı İçin Eziyet Ediyor Carmine Falcone Adlı Mafya Babası Kendisi Batman İn İlk Düşmanı James Gordon A Penguen İ Öldürmesi İçin Emir Veriyor Gordon Penguen İ Vurmuyor Gotham A Gelmesin Diye Tembih Ediyor Sonra Suya Atıyor Pengueni Alfred İ Sean Pertwee Adlı Oyuncu Canlandırıyor Fish Mooney Adlı Kadın Club Sahibi Ve Clubında Gördüğümüz Komedyen The Joker La İlgili Bir İpucu The Joker Gençken Bir Komedyendi Her Neyse Kritiğimiz Bu Kadar

Gotham has had it's pilot episode, and was better than I had expected it to be. That said there's plenty of episodes to come, so only time will tell how well the show carries on. The pilot however does seem to show some promise, and the initial groundwork has been laid out pretty well.

The visual look of Gotham is very well captured, and sells the idea that Gotham city is a dark, and dangerous place. The acting overall is pretty good, with an occasional cheesy line here, and there. Ben Mackenzie does a good job as James Gordon which I would have never expected. He has the strength, charm, and moral center needed to make the character of Gordon work. Donal Logue plays Harvey Bullock, and also brings enough to the character to be more than just a corrupt cop, he's likable enough as to where as a viewer, you kinda get where's he's coming from, and Logue and Mackenzie play well off each other. David Mazouz play the young Bruce Wayne aka Batman, and does fine with the little screen time he has.

The supporting cast works well enough for what their given to do in the pilot episode. Jada Pinkett Smith does a pretty decent playing her character Fish Mooney (a new character), and I actually liked her take on the character. She's the up, and comer who eventually want's to take Falcone's place, another known criminal from the Batman mythos. Mooney also has competition as her loyal thug Oswald aka Penguin want's to take her place. Robin Taylor who portrays Oswald may have gotten cast because of his penguin-like nose, but he is the shows most over the top character, and is the most compelling to watch. Other future Batman rouges are mentioned like Cat women (or in this case girl), as well as Edward Nigma (Riddler), and an young Ivy.

Perhaps the best thing about this Gotham pilot is that it showed some promise, and left me as viewer wanting to see more. I don't know how long the show can last, given this is about Gotham before Batman, but if the pilot is any indication of whats to come, perhaps the show will work without it's titular character Batman. The only way this show can move forward, and develop is if viewers are willing to watch a Batman less show, and I hope people will give it a chance, because first impressions make seem like this could be one to watch.

I had huge expectations but also had doubts whether a series set in Gotham City could work without Batman in it. Well the good news it does if only it took a few episodes to keep me gripped as it seemed to start off a bit campy and the acting was a bit wooden but its nowhere near as bad as it could of been and Batman is in it in a way as Bruce Wayne is a major character.

Young Bruce Wayne's parents are gunned down by a mugger to which Selina Kyle is a witness.New police rookie James Gordon(superb Ben McKenzie) along with lieutenant Harvey Bullock are assigned the case and when the necklace worn by Mrs Wayne is found at crook Mario Pepper's place(his daughter is named Ivy Pepper,who do you think she will become)the cops get in a scuffle with Pepper and the case seems closed. Gordon soon learns the necklace was planted on Pepper by Fish Mooney(a sleazy Jada Pinkett Smith with a career best role)who is a member of mob boss Carmine Falcone's 'family' but can Gordon get to her or will this case be closed before Gordon can find the killer.

This a safe start to the new series with the origin of Bruce Wayne/Batman included as well as first appearances of classic names like trusty butler Alfred,cops Gordon and Bullock as well as villains Mooney,Falcone,Ivy,Selina(Catwoman)Kyle and Edward Nigma(who works for the cops,for now)and standout bad guy Oswald Cobblepot who is amazingly played by actor Robin Lord Taylor who makes a character who I don't really like The Penguin(as he becomes soon after)into a very strong character who oozes cunning and power and we see early potential of a gangland boss and love his scenes with Moony. Finally we get to Bruce Wayne and Alfred along with Gordon and this is the dynamic that is key to this show's success and as young as Bruce is you can already see the relationship brewing with Gordon for when he becomes Batman,the relationship with Bruce and Alfred is simply magnificent with young actor David Mazouz electrifying as Bruce and acts much older than his years and wonderful and very funny Brit veteran Sean Pertwee has a career best as Alfred and Brit actors are superb as Alfred for some reason.

Not much happens compared to later episodes but there is some great action along with wonderful scenes involving Bruce with Gordon who swears to catch his parents murderer and is just amazing to see which villain will appear where and also love the working partnership between Gordon and Bullock,i also love the look of the show with a dark and brooding Gotham similar to previous versions but more grim and nasty.

Its not the best first episode to a show I've seen but with some wonderful actors playing legendary characters and despite early campness this is a top successor to The Dark Knight trilogy.

This show has picked up since and is heading for greatness.

The first episode of Gotham was exactly what I thought it was going to be. It starts out with the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. I know a lot of people think that this should have been later on in the season, and the Wayne's should have been supporting characters, but I think in the long run this will take us quicker to Batman. Bruce is supposed to see his parents die when he is a kid. If they waited any longer people would probably complain that Bruce was too old. If Bruce was any older when he saw his parents die, he probably would have become some emo cutter instead of the worlds greatest detective. I also think that trying to solve the case of who killed the Wayne's is a great case to start Gordon and Bullock on. What other great crime can you think of that needs to be solved in the Batman universe? Their deaths rock the whole city, and you need to establish Gordon as the great cop/detective that he is by "solving" this crime. Not to anyone's surprise, they don't solve this case in the first episode, even though they think they do. It seems most of the episode was spent introducing us to the many supporting characters in the show. While some may think that Gotham blew its entire load in the first episode, I think that it was just setting up a universe that people will come back and watch every week. I could be wrong, but I doubt that The Riddler will be in every episode, and even if he is, I doubt the episodes will focus on him. When I saw that he was a CSI person I was like: 'mind blown'. I never even realized that that would be the perfect profession for him. I do have to say that Bullock telling him to not talk in riddles was kind of a slap in the face. It was like the people who wrote the episode thought they needed to spoon feed the audience with who each person becomes in the future. This also shows later on when they introduce a young Poison Ivy. She is shown tending to plants every time we see her. She is shown in two different scenes, if I remember right, and somehow I doubt a little girl is going to just stand in the same place wearing the same clothes tending to a plant. I don't care who she grows up to be. It was also pretty irritating that her name isn't Pamela, but that is neither here nor there. It was also pretty pointless to keep calling Oswald Cobblepot 'penguin'. We all know that he grows up to be The Penguin, but I don't really see what they mean when they tell him he looks like a penguin. Is it because he wears a tuxedo everywhere, or because of his nose? The ending to the show didn't really make any sense to me. Why did Oswald kill that old man? Was it just to kill a man? Did he really want his sandwich, because he wasn't really in the water that long? Am I supposed to assume that he was starving? I just wish the show would have explained the motives for this killing.

I thought the casting of the two leads in this show was pretty awesome, too. The only person that I knew from the cast was Donal Logue. When I was a teenager I loved him in Grounded for Life, and I love him in this show. I have never seen Ben McKenzie in anything, but I think he was perfectly cast in this role. He looks very innocent, but can be a real hard ass when he needs to be. I can't wait to see some of the other actors that make appearances in this show.

Other than those few complaints I talked about, I absolutely loved this show, and I can't wait to watch it every week. For more reviews check out my blog fatmattfilms.blogspot.com