It’s a shame that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad wasn’t a bigger hit at the box office. Critically, it was almost universally celebrated by everybody, including the people who aren’t die hard fans of the source material. There’s many factors why The Suicide Squad failed to live up to its box office potential, whether it’s day and date release on HBO max, the R rating or simply calling it The Suicide Squad and confusing audiences if this was a rerelease of the 2016 Suicide Squad movie. Needless to say, if they had either called it something else like “Task Force X” it may have done a bit better, but as far as how much better we’ll never know. Regardless on the financial disappoint on Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, it’s easily of the best films James Gunn has made to date. It washed away any kind of stench the original Suicide Squad had and it was fun to see Gunn let loose with the ensemble and the violence. The performances from the entire ensemble were all exceptional, and one of those stand outs was John Cena as the character of Peacemaker. Cena’s performance in The Suicide Squad was a shining moment but it also made audiences want to see more of that character in follow ups. Luckily, James Gunn and his entire creative mind began working on a show focused on the character of Peacemaker during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Warner Bros. has struck some gold with some various DC projects whether it was James Gunn The Suicide Squad, Joker, Shazam and they even united the fan based with the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League last spring. But after the financial loss of The Suicide Squad, things were unsure if we would see a continuation with these characters ever again. Thankfully, HBO max just wrapped up on what might be considered one of the best projects DC has ever made. Peacemaker lets James Gunn goes ball to the wall crazy with mega violence and complete wackiness, but still provides us with powerful character moments within a great ensemble of actors and showcases John Cena as a competent actor.
Picking up after the events of The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker sees our titular character returning home after his bloody encounter Bloodsport. When he returns home, Peacemaker realizes that a new threat emerges, which involves some secrets about his past life that get resurfaced.
The best and maybe the most surprising aspect about Peacemaker is the performance that John Cena gives in all eight episodes. John Cena has yet to hit the status of a true thespian, but his performance in The Suicide Squad was a brand new opening to the kind of talent he has. With Peacemaker, Cena displays a wide amount of range, great comedic timing and terrific moments of physicality. Having James Gunn as the writer and as a director (for certain episodes), Gunn was able to showcase Cena’s strengths and hide away the weaknesses he has. Beyond all that, John Cena delivered a great performance the progressively got better and better with each week.
John Cena isn’t the only one that dominates the screen. Each of the recurring characters were great in their individual way and added more freshness and more fun dynamics with the character of Peacemaker. Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee all serve as terrific counter parts in this world, but maybe the scene stealer in almost every episode is the character of Vigilante, played by Freddie Stroma. He’s quirky, snappy and adds an extra layer of great comedic relief, while still playing a player that can put you in a pretzel. Another terrific addition to this show was the use of Robert Patrick as Peacemaker’s father and also known as the White Dragon. The relationship John Cena and Robert Patrick share is full of deep emotion and internal struggles that elevate the emotional weight of this movie, particularly after episode three.
Another aspect of Peacemaker really comes from the brilliant mind of James Gunn and that’s the fact the show is surprisingly thoughtful and deep than it had any business being. Obviously, the show is full of brutal violence, gnarly moments and great comic-book movie/tv fun. But like any great storyteller, Gunn offers a surprisingly solid level of heart and humanity with the character of Peacemaker that’s elevated from Cena’s performance and Gunn’s direction. Almost in the vein of Amazon’s The Boys, which is super violent and over the top, it’s a comic-book show that still treats it’s characters and situations with delicacy and passion. James Gunn’s Peacemaker is one of those special shows.
HBO max’s Peacemaker was a great way to kick off the new year. In some way, this show was able to recover the financial mess that The Suicide Squad was by picking up back in this universe but with one of main ingredients that made that movie work. From the terrific utilization of the cast, the brilliant direction of James Gunn and to the terrific performance from John Cena, Peacemaker is the best thing HBO max has put out since their launch date. Season two needs to get her pronto.
My grade for Peacemaker season one: A
p.s. BEST OPENING CREDITS FOR A SHOW IN THE HISTORY OF TV
p.p.s Eagly rules
Zane's take at the Cinema's 