Peacemaker Premiere Review

*The following is a spoiler-free review of the first three episodes of Peacemaker.

Upon the release of last year’s The Suicide Squad, it was also announced that writer/director James Gunn would also be helming a spinoff series based on John Cena’s Peacemaker for HBO Max. At that point, it was unclear as to when this series would take place in the grand scheme of the DCEU. That being said, those who happened to stay for the last post-credit scene in The Suicide Squad were given that answer as (spoiler alert) Peacemaker was indeed saved by Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) thus setting the stage for this series.

Peacemaker essentially began where The Suicide Squad left off with Christopher Smith, also known as Peacemaker, approximately five months later recovering after surgery that saved him from the brink of death. From there, Peacemaker found himself in sort of a limbo which would be short-lived as he was nowhere near as free as he thought he was. Amanda Waller had different plans for him, placing him on an off-the-books task force alongside a begrudging Harcourt and Economos alongside Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) and their leader Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji). Suffice it to say that there was an adjustment period as they were certainly not thrilled to be working together nor did they trust each other but nevertheless they were stuck with one another. The biggest sticking point was Peacemaker himself whose personality was definitely an acquired taste.

That initial awkwardness and dysfunction brought along plenty of moments of humor as the different personalities clashed until it got old rather quickly as the series tried to work out that dynamic. Despite this, it was still a blast to watch as the task force eventually had to get to business. However, just like for Peacemaker, it wasn’t exactly clear what that business actually was. On paper, that mission was to kill bad people who threatened the United States by any means necessary though it wasn’t necessarily clear as to why they were bad. Ultimately, that distinction was made clear over the course of the first three episodes. The key was seemingly something known as Project Butterfly which involved people identified as potential butterflies. How far it will all go remains to be seen but looks to be something a lot worse and more far-reaching than they thought.

Outside of the exploits of the task force was Peacemaker’s life before we saw him in The Suicide Squad. His crime-fighting partner, Adrian Chase a.k.a. Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) awkwardly lurked on the periphery, perhaps trying to rekindle their relationship while his racist, sexist, etc father Auggie (Robert Patrick) found himself in prison where he seemed frighteningly comfortable. When it comes to the latter, the series only scratched the surface as to where that subplot can go but the former felt like the comic relief as he and his determination to keep his identity a secret fit in nicely with the main storyline.

As far as the action was concerned, Peacemaker only scratched the surface. While most of the first three episodes focused on character development, they still had their moments as it did feature some exciting and well-shot sequences. Meanwhile, the series did not shy away from blood and gore as it is not for kids, if the swearing and nudity weren’t already enough. Just like past James Gunn work, the soundtrack still ties everything together nicely.

In the end, the best part of Peacemaker was its performances and the great chemistry across the board, of course led by Cena as Peacemaker himself. His charm and charisma were so undeniable that despite being a bad guy on paper, he was still likable. His personality may rub some people the wrong way as those who did not like him in The Suicide Squad will probably not change their minds here. That being said, the series did allow a deeper exploration of the character which in turn allowed Cena to show some decent range as the character appeared to be more than his reputation made him out to be. As the series goes on, it will be interesting to watch as layers are not only peeled back for Peacemaker but also the other members of the task force who did see some character development through the first three episodes. Out of those, the best was Holland’s Harcourt who was tough on the outside who did have a lot in common with Peacemaker while Brooks’ Adebayo and her inexperience made for a fun contrast to the other characters.

And the opening credits are worth the price of admission alone.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.