The 96% hit series returns for an antidote to superhero saturation
(Image credit: WarnerMedia)
If you enjoyed the latest Superman movie, and you're in the mood for more wholesome superhero action... Then don't watch Peacemaker.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for the weirdest, goriest, most foul-mouthed and generally bonkers take on superheroes, then make your peace with Peacemaker.
Like Superman, Peacemaker comes from the mind of writer and director James Gunn, who also gave us the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He clearly knows his way around a family-friendly blockbuster, but he also revels in being let loose with a way more adult take on superheroes.
From the fantastically silly opening sequence onwards, it's hilarious and utterly bizarre, but Peacemaker is more than just capes and tights with added blood spatter and naughty words – it's also a surprisingly affecting character-based drama with a fantastic central performance.
John Cena stars as a musclebound gunman with a shiny helmet and delusions of superhero grandeur. He was introduced in Gunn's 2021 movie The Suicide Squad as one of the least likeable in a platoon of superpowered misfits, and yet Cena came close to stealing the show.
Playing Peacemaker as a blend of bluster and vulnerability with a total lack of self-awareness, Cena shows genuine comedic talent – and most of all, he goes all in.
One moment he’s doing a dance routine in his tight white pants, the next he’s engaged in a half-naked knife fight with an alien, and soon he’s choking back tears over his messed-up childhood. It's a committed and genuinely engaging central performance you might not expect from a former WWE wrestler.
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The series begins with Peacemaker's gun-toting skills being put to use as part of a special ops squad searching for bodysnatching creatures.
There's espionage, shootouts and explosions – including some truly outrageous fight scenes – but it isn't really about saving the world. The real emotional kick comes from the deluded but troubled Peacemaker wrestling with his past mistakes and processing trauma.
As our dubious hero tries to be better, he's drawn into a new group of misfits that slowly form a touchingly rough-edged friendship. Danielle Brooks is the human heart of the series with her mix of warmth, wit, and biting sarcasm, while Freddie Stroma is hilarious as Vigilante, a wannabe hero even more deluded than Peacemaker.
The squad is rounded out by Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee, who provide clashing banter as the team's ultra-capable enforcer and ultra not-very-capable nerd. And then, just to ruin everything, Robert Patrick shows up as a white supremacist supervillain with a jetpack, who also happens to be Peacemaker's dad.
Following season one's action, season two is now streaming on HBO Max in the US and Now TV in the UK. And right from the first episode, the stakes are raised in terms of emotional drama and on-screen craziness.
After a failed audition to join forces with Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, Peacemaker ends up moping around at a comically graphic orgy, and steps through an interdimensional portal in his closet. Next thing, he's in an alternative world where his childhood trauma never happened. In this universe, he can be everything he ever wanted – unless he messes it up again.
In terms of sheer unpredictability, Peacemaker is the antidote to superhero saturation. One second you’re watching gut-splattering ultraviolence, the next you’re rooting for characters just trying to make their way in a world that doesn't make any sense.
Also, the soundtrack is full of raging glam metal bangers. Superman it ain’t, but it’s superb in a very different way.
Richard is a movie-obsessed writer with nearly 20 years as a film, TV and technology journalist. A Rotten Tomatoes-certified movie critic and member of the Film Critics' Circle, he lives by the seaside and likes punk rock, Tranmere Rovers and helping out at the local film club.
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