While I've covered plenty of DC TV series on this blog the last few years, this marks the first to be directly connected to the films of the DC Extended Universe. Spinning out of "The Suicide Squad", James Gunn returns to put the spotlight on the character of Peacemaker, portrayed once again by John Cena, for a new clandestine mission to save the world. What results in my opinion is a slow burn of a rollercoaster that winds up being a ride worth taking.
On a first glance, Peacemaker seems like such an odd choice to receive a solo project, possibly banking on John Cena's action star power to get attention. As it turns out though, the series does a great job at giving Peacemaker depth with an emotional backstory and engaging crisis on conscience that adds development to the one-note character he was in his debut appearance. It's honestly quite surprising to see Cena turn in such a performance. The best way to describe the character is a mix of Star-Lord and Deadpool. Like Star-Lord, he had a rural upbringing and a love for music tied to a lost loved one. And much like Deadpool, he's an incredibly raunchy anti-hero who will constantly roast superheroes and celebrities. My favorite part of his journey though is how he slowly bonds and builds friendships with the members of the team assigned to him, including Harcourt, Adebayo, and Economos (portrayed by Jennifer Holland, Danielle Brooks, and Steve Agee respectively). It's just another example of James Gunn successfully bringing a team together that we slowly but surely become emotionally invested in as we reach the story's climax.
On that note, James Gunn's style is still on point with this series, retaining some of the bizarre nature of his Suicide Squad film, as well as his trademark comedy and use of music to enhance the scenes they're included in. On the latter, I think it's some of his best selections, especially the use of "Do You Wanna Taste It" by Wig Wam for the series' opening theme and in the season finale's climax.
That being said, part of me feels that Gunn may be stretching himself thin when it comes to TV compared to movies. I felt myself dredging along during the first half of the season when there wasn't much excitement happening, whereas things seemed to really take off in episode five onwards and I started to become more invested. And while the comedy usually hits the mark, there are often times where it feels out of place or the bits just run for too long; it's like they filmed the actors improvising all the jokes they could think of but decided not to cut it down to the best ones. My point is, I think Gunn could benefit from tightening things up a bit, whether it be for the next season of Peacemaker or his other planned Suicide Squad spin-off in the works.
Overall, it took a little while for Peacemaker to really take off for me compared to Gunn's other projects, but when it does, it reaches the freaking stars. And with where many of our main characters are by the season's end, I'm really interested in seeing the direction they go when the show returns.
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