Peacemaker episode 1-3 has released on HBO Max, and for me, it is a mostly good spinoff
show for John Cena's character.
The Suicide Squad spinoff is a series that appropriately
doesn't take itself too seriously, but while I really enjoy the entertainment on show,
I do think a majority of the first 3 episodes were lacking a story punch, but one that
could come in later episodes because of Episode 3's ending.
Still, like I say, I am really enjoying the entertainment and elements of James Gunn's
signature style, so hopefully, it will all come together as more episodes come
out.
This video is a spoiler-free review of the first 3 episodes of the new DCEU show, so
don't worry if you haven't seen it already.
But before I get into my thoughts, if you want to see more videos on the upcoming episodes
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But without further ado, let's dive into my spoiler-free review for Peacemaker Episode
1-3.
So Peacemaker is an unexpected spin-off series for James Gunn’s 2021 film, The Suicide
Squad, and this new action/comedy show puts Christopher Smith, the Peacemaker, played
by John Cena is on another mission with some familiar
characters from the film and some other new ones.
It’s a weird show in that it acts like a side-mission, which is less ambitious, less
comedic, and has less action, but it is mostly enjoyable from what I've seen so far.
One of the stronger elements of this show is how John Cena brings cartoonish charm to
the TV landscape, one that is perfect for a muscle-head
superhero who thinks that the best way to achieve peace is to kill all of the people
trying to stop him.
And he’s assisted by some enjoyable characters but ones that aren't
really explored to the fullest, nor do they work as well as the more colourful characters
around him in The Suicide Squad.
Now every episode does have its own clever twist and there are
some really comedic scenes in there for Cena to play off the other characters.
But after the first 3 episodes, I'm still left asking
myself...
Does Peacemaker need his own show?
Well, not really, and this mainly comes from a plot perspective and also through the fact
that when we explore Peacemaker and his troubled character, it feels like it's more
of the same from this type of deconstructing comic book property.
Stuff here has been seen in shows like Amazon's The Boys or even
Watchmen and the comedic approach feels more in tune with what we saw in Deadpool.
But like I said, this is entertaining and the main thing I can critique is that we've
basically seen it before and done better.
Of course, this is only for the first 3 episodes and after an introduction of a greater plot
in Episode 3, this could all change.
Still, the time we have spent with this character, it's focused
on his same set of immature preferences, and other characters bicker like kids who need
to be separated, constantly bringing up flaws about each other’s equally ridiculous viewpoints.
Gunn's hyper-charged sensibility of violence is on display in decent fashion and I cannot
not mention the lengthy opening titles in which the cast do a hilarious dance.
This is all supported by James Gunn's usual love of music with a soundtrack that taps
into the metal and 80s-style guitar.
So for the most part it's pretty good and it hasn't lost my attention
when it comes to watching laster episodes.
I just hope we get more development of the plot and a unique spin on some of the
introduced themes.
Coming now to more of that mentioned plot, if you remember, Peacemaker was virtually
dead at the end of The Suicide Squad, but after being brought back to life and given
another chance, he ends up being forced to work with
members of the team who overthrew Amanda Waller at the end of the film, including Economos
and Harcourt along with new members which include the stoic leader Murn and Adebayo.
And then there's Peacemaker’s animal sidekick, Eagle-y who so far has made quite cute and
funny appearances.
It's not too long before Peacemaker and his team of outcasts stumble
upon an alien threat, allowing James Gunn’s lunacy to come out.
But having said that, the opening 3 episodes don't quite match the
craziness of the film that inspired it.
And when it does go off the rails in a particular action scene at the end of the first episode,
it does come to life, but in a way that makes Peacemaker more chatty than ever before.
While you have to maintain a sense of pace with dialogue, this character doesn't necessarily
call for too much of that at every given moment and the series definitely suffers from a traditional
modern Hollywood problem where it seems a little thin in plot and repetitive for its
overall running time.
But I will say that at least the filler in these episodes is quite
entertaining and hilarious.
Freddie Stroma is great as Vigilante, another sidekick to Peacemaker, that may not be needed
so far from a plot point of view, but his character does
provide an interesting addition from a commentary standpoint and again from a comedic structure.
He’s like a sort of superfan who decided he wanted to go on killing sprees with his
favourite hero.
So the side characters are decent with some strong additions, but like I was saying, this
show really excels with John Cena's main character.
The one primary theme that I gather will be touched on more as the season goes on, seems
to be about Peacemaker realizing that he has no peace in his life not
because of the world around him but because of how he grew up.
Early on, the performance of his despicable father plants this idea firmly and the subplots
with other members of the squad such as the disrespected tech wiz Economos
and that of Adebayo just seem like they are going nowhere.
The more personal offering of these plots is distracting more than it is
character exploration.
So I'm hoping that as we go on, with Cena himself being the strongest part, that we
get more of that deeper analysis behind how he became Peacemaker.
He’s of course well-suited as a comic performer too,
but this stuff becomes more repetitive and it all needs further motivation in the weeks
to come.
Coming now to James Gunn, I was really looking forward to this because as a director I think
he always strikes the right balance between humour, action and emotional heart.
But in the first 3 episodes, his directing is a less
satisfying in-between, too direct at times to be showy and too low in scale to reach
the height of other superhero shows or series in
general.
Gunn does work well in compact situations, but the TV landscape seems quite unfamiliar
for him as a storyteller and a somewhat creative of action.
Peacemaker is trying to fill its episodes with a feature’s worth
of subplots whether it's Peacemaker quips with the crew, his Vigilante, and the central
plot of the so-called aliens seems to have only just entered the frame.
While entertaining it makes the episodes feel quite thin and the true tone of it all is
something I think needs more work in the episodes to come.
The humour is hit-and-miss at times too and while
it's similar in that regard to The Suicide Squad, the director focused more on the childish
gags.
Yes, Peacemaker is at times hilarious, but there might be too many poop jokes to
count.
Still, there is plenty of drama and I just think that in the episodes to come, it needs
to be better paced and really work around that mentioned primary plotline.
Like I was hinting at before though, an infuse of Peacemaker's sympathetic side is something
that surprisingly is working well.
We haven't seen much of it but when we do it makes
the character more relatable than he was in the original film.
Yes, he's still poking fun at Economos's beard but he has moments where he seems slightly
more reflective.
Episode two opens with him scrambling to cope with the
bad decisions he made at the end of the previous episode.
But it also goes beyond that within the genre to reckon with the more
controversial themes.
A running gag here is that people think Peacemaker is racist even though he points out that he’s
“killed a fair amount of white people, too.”
Peacemaker comes across as more clueless than anything, but
that’s actually shown as a disappointment to his father, who plays a quite sinister
character.
And with this being the reason why Peacemaker has become the way he has, it leaves
opportunities for Gunn to explore this deeper in later episodes, creating a central drive.
At its core, it's a story about a damaged man doing his best to escape his lifetime
formula and become a better person from it, even if he maintains that typical persona
we know and want.
With this being pushed to the sidelines in the opening episodes, I'm just
left wondering from a character perspective, why this project is necessary.
I hope this question will be answered in the coming weeks and
prove me wrong, and I hope it's done in a way that adds to the superhero genre and isn't
something that becomes predictable.
That being said, I trust that James Gunn will balance
this approach out and deliver something quite great.
Still, it's entertaining and John Cena may be the next performer to succeed at being
a wrestler-turned-actor.
But that was my spoiler-free review of Peacemaker Episode 1-3.
Overall, this new show from James Gunn seems enjoyable enough to be an entertaining distraction,
but at times I wonder if it might end up being slightly forgettable
because of its so far, thin plot.
But this might change in episodes to come and Peacemaker’s likeable idiot is quite
easy to attach to and effortless to spend time with.
Now I can't quite attach to some of the show's other characters as much and even when Peacemaker
delivers his usual clownery, it would have worked
better alongside more characters who are equally as eccentric.
The Suicide Squad worked for this very reason in film form and the show doesn't quite deliver
on its themes as well as say Amazon's The Boys of even in its humour
as much as the comparative Deadpool.
James Gunn is aiming for a subversive superhero show, using excessive violence and questionable
humour to deconstruct the genre, and the opening 3 episodes offer a goofy telling of vigilantism
while hinting at bigger plots to come.
If they can deliver on these introduced plots then it will be all the better for it.
But so far it is a mostly enjoyable show for the character and John Cena breathes life
into a series that would have been less strong without
him.
I'm giving Peacemaker Episode 1-3 a rating of 7.75 out of 10.
But to those who have already seen the opening episodes, what do you think of James Gunn's
new comic book show and do you agree with some of the points I have
raised.
Again, it's all subjective and I understand that there will be many different reactions
and reviews, but let me know down below in the comments section what you personally
thought towards the start of the series alongside things that stood out with your first impressions.
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