Peacemaker Season 1 review

Almost right from the start, Peacemaker felt off. Writer/director James Gunn realized he could do a dysfunctional “superhero” project radically more over the top than Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad.

In the dysfunctional corner of the cinematic superhero universe no one comes close to Gunn. On the TV front, Doom Patrol was the best equivalent. That’s due to its unique mix of quirky outcasts like Danny the genderqueer street and a flexing muscleman giving everyone orgasms.

Gunn desperately tries to capture that level of absurdity, but where Doom Patrol finds sweetness and genuine emotions in even its wildest scenarios, Peacemaker offers diminishing returns. It’s as if Gunn hopes viewers will remain entertained by the same level of potty humor, expletive-laden dialogue and indulgent violence for the sake of violence.

That worked so well in The Suicide Squad because it was packed with (mostly) villains trying their best to function as heroes and constantly dropping the ball. They were awful people anyway so who cares if they screw up or worse, get killed?

Peacemaker doesn’t have a vast superpowered ensemble. Its titular character, Christopher Smith (an incredibly game John Cena), isn’t even fit for that distinction following his actions in The Suicide Squad. Smith betrayed the team and killed leader Rick Flag. While Smith is constantly tormented by those actions, it’s normally used for comedic sake.

Smith might be a fringe racist, definitely is a misogynist and sexist and has some interesting thoughts on core values that reflect a different period, but it’s all really because his dad (Robert Patrick) is a legit white supremacist. Complete with his own supervillain outfit and moniker, The White Dragon.

It feels more of a way to excuse Smith’s rougher traits and pass the buck to his crappy father. Patrick brings some intense seething vitriol to his performance embodying the textbook definition of toxic masculinity for anyone needing an example.

And he’s still on the hook with Squad commander Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) meaning it’s time for a new mission. There’s no Deadshot, Harley Quinn or Ratcatcher II though. Smith is teaming with Squad tech holdovers, Hardcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Economos (Steve Agee); new recruit Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) and leader Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji).

Fortunately, Smith has some slightly more competent field backup with his pet eagle, Eagely and Vigilante (Freddie Stroma, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince), a somehow more deranged gun-toting crime-fighter with even less regard for his victims than his presumed BFF.

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Gunn writes Peacemaker and Vigilante as seriously disturbed little boys that have no business being around anything deadlier than a pillow let alone machine guns.

Peacemaker puts down plenty of think-piece fodder on gun laws being needed for wackos like his costumed characters, but he’s content to just show two goofballs getting their guns off.

Adebayo is intended as the audience avatar for this cold-hearted world of spies and intrigue. Brooks is terrific bringing most of the heart to the show even as Adebayo gets dragged into the yelling at the group in exasperation pattern that gets tiresome by the third episode.

Gunn is seeking explosive shock value instead of crafting likeable characters that made audiences cherish a raccoon, a tree, a polka-dot using dude with mommy issues and a fierce yet timid girl whose best friends are rats. The ensemble works even if Gunn tries too hard to manufacture needless dysfunction just to further add to a state of chaos.

The group is dispatched to get more tangible details on Project Butterfly, which is Gunn’s take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. There’s better thought put into this plot point with a good payoff especially against the backdrop of contemporary times. Still, it gets a little lost in the blood-soaked chaotic finale.

A staple of Gunn’s superhero efforts has been an impressively curated collection of music. Peacemaker continues that trend albeit with a more annoying and aggravating focus on bad 80s glam bands. Sure, it fits Smith’s tacky style, but a constant dose of three to four songs over the course of each episode becomes draining.

The action scenes are very well executed with heavy emphasis on the executions. They’re gratuitous and oftentimes irrelevant. Characters take significant gunshot wounds that have them on the brink of death only to return with no problem a few scenes later. The first few times there’s some suspense, but by the midway point of the season, it’s obvious 98% of the main characters have Wolverine-style healing powers to cheat death yet again.

There’s an impressive amount of DC lore in the series as Gunn and contributing writers Pat Boyette and Joe Gill reference lesser-known (to the mainstream) heroes like Matter-Eater Lad and Doll Man. Judomaster (Nhut Le) has a prominent antagonist role.

Perhaps in some self-deflection loathing mechanism, Peacemaker makes ludicrous claims about the bigger name heroes in the vain hopes of looking cooler. This actually gets paid off to a degree in the season finale with a cameo that’s both very cool and somewhat disappointing due to the smoke and mirrors nature of pulling it off.

With Cena’s undeniable charisma and a cast willing to play along with every insane scenario, there’s quality moments in every episode of Peacemaker. It’s too bad that Gunn kept forcing chaos on a team and a series that would have benefited from a bit less of…well, everything.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Photo Credit: HBO Max

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