Pennyworth: 9 Ups And 5 Downs From "Pilot"

2. A Michael Caine Parody

Michael Caine Get Carter
MGM

Jack Bannon seems to be a great fit for this depiction of Alfred Pennyworth, yet it’s impossible not to find his unique cockney accent as a little jarring.

Michael Caine famously played Alfred alongside Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and it appears that Bannon has amped his Caine-isms up to 11 for Pennyworth. It’s a fine line between getting it right or coming off as a tongue-in-cheek caricature, and this first episode veers a smidge too much towards cringe-worthy and almost parody when it comes to the accent of Bannon’s Alfie.

So much so, this was bordering on the over-the-top Michael Caine character as seen in the famed ‘90s BBC comedy Stella Street.

Hopefully this is something that becomes less of an issue as Norwich-born Jack Bannon gets more accustomed to his Alfred Pennyworth role.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.