All of the praise that nerd culture heaped on Joss Whedon from roughly 1997 to 2015 should simply be redirected to James Gunn. That Whedon praise of nearly-too-clever dialogue and an ability to craft engaging, satisfying arcs for a large ensemble is what Gunn has been doing his entire career. I’d go a step further for Gunn and credit him for not only strong ensemble writing, but also favoring niche characters and transforming them into fan-favorites. It’s how Gunn exploded into popularity with 2014’s massive Guardians of the Galaxy, which catapulted the little-known Marvel comic into a pillar of its multi-billion dollar cinematic venture. It’s also how Gunn revitalized a corner of DC’s comic book universe with last year’s The Suicide Squad (my review), and what led to this Squad spin-off centered on John Cena’s titular Peacemaker. That’s a long way to say that Peacemaker is a surprisingly heartfelt, funny, and satisfying viewing experience, thanks to Gunn’s brain and his wonderfully talented cast.
I joined the skeptics when Warner Brothers announced that Gunn would be handpicking Cena’s character from The Suicide Squad for his own streaming series. Cena did an admirable job with DC’s fascist, violent, anti-Captain America, but I didn’t believe that character could sustain an entire series—but I’m learning time and time again to never discount James Gunn. He has stacked his show with a fantastic cast, centered around Cena, who brings a surprising amount of gravitas and vulnerability to an initially-shallow and one-joke character. There is truly not a weak link in the supporting cast. The series has an impressive ability to avoid narrative dead weight for its characters. Too often a show will drag with an unengaging or obligatory B- or C-Plot that you yawn through until the story gets back to the good stuff. Gunn is able to keep every character and storyline interesting through injecting small beats of comedy and humanity. Even smaller side characters are given odd ticks or a point-of-view; it helps keep you connected to the characters, even as the story directly embraces campy madness.
The series also looks good. To be fair, the characters and story setting lends itself to cheaper and practical filming locations, but the show never feels cheap or lazy in it’s direction, framing, or cinematography. A particular highlight is the show’s action and fight choreography. Once again, Gunn and co. craft engaging and inventive sequences, often visceral, brutal, and appropriately-schlocky when needed. A note on choreography: Gunn set out to make an opening credits sequence that would compel viewers not to skip. I can confirm they succeeded. And I haven’t even mentioned Eagly, Peacemaker’s literal pet eagle, a CGI creation so wonderful that I genuinely thought they had trained an eagle to hug John Cena.
While Peacemaker is a deeply funny and irreverent show, it rarely comes at the expense of its (surprising amount of) emotional connection. Gunn accomplishes what so many screenwriters earnestly try for: an ability to inject their odd humor in a way that underscores the warmth and humanity, instead of undercutting it. As with the best ensemble stories, this is a collection of broken people forging an unlikely found-family. It’s cliched, but there’s a reason it works—and Gunn is one of the best at constructing it.
It’s possible I’m overdoing my praise for Peacemaker and James Gunn. Maybe this is what happens when you throw this on immediately after The Book of Boba Fett. Comparing Peacemaker to the Marvel and Star Wars offerings on Disney+ is very apples-to-oranges, especially since the latter are seldom so tongue-in-cheek or self-referential. They’re so inherently different, but it’s hard not to watch Peacemaker and wonder why other fandom series can’t showcase this same amount of personality, confidence, and color. It doesn’t need to be a competition between the two comic book powerhouses, but Peacemaker is an unmistakable triumph for DC, HBO Max, and fans of good television.
Peacemaker is available to stream on HBO Max. The season consists of eight episodes and is rated TV-MA.
