Peacemaker Premiere Review: A rollicking, crude, blast from the unhinged mind of James Gunn, with just enough heart

The first three episodes of Peacemaker showcase one of the most unique comic book tv series ever. James Gunn‘s unique blend of comedy, violence and heart is on full display with this series.The combination of John Cena, Danielle Brooks and Freddie Stroma with the writing and directing of Gunn is a winning one for HBO Max.

Cena was one of many highlights in The Suicide Squad. Cena was able to capture the douchy charm of the mercenary Christopher Smith. He’s even better in Peacemaker. There’s something quite sad about the character. Cena’s commitment to physical comedy is fantastic. Whether he’s dancing in tighty-whities or jumping off ledges, Cena is simply delightful.

Peacemaker also features a strong ensemble with Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee reprising their roles as Emilia Harcourt and John Economos from The Suicide Squad. Agee was one of the few sore spots in the film and he’s the weakest link here. Agee’s not bad, his character is just the least fleshed out of the entire ensemble so far. Holland fares much better. Harcourt is even more of a badass in many ways than even Peacemaker. Harcourt is a mission-oriented character. She just wants to focus on the mission and nothing else. Her tough exterior matched with Cena’s almost child-like demeanor is fantastic.

The returning characters are nice, but it’s a pair of new characters in Leota Adebayo and Adrian Chase aka Vigilante. who shines the brightest. Leota is the moral center of the team and Brooks knocks this character out of the park. Leota is the character that actually sees there’s something deeper to Christopher Smith than just a slightly racist, douchy mercenary. Stroma provides pure chaos as Adrian. Every exchange between Chase and the team is hilarious.

Chukwudi Iwuji rounds out the team as Clemson Muir. A fellow mercenary well-known to Christopher Smith, he’s trying to make amends for his past as the leader of the team. Iwuji is the straight-man on the team, a necessity in a series as bizarre as Peacemaker.

Beneath the bravado is something quite sad in Christopher Smith. As awful as Christopher Smith can be at times, he really could have been far worse based on his white supremacist father played by Robert Patrick. The former Terminator villain has nothing but distaste for his son. Each venomous, snide remark cuts Chris deep and Cena plays these sad small moments just as well as the comedy.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into each of these three release episodes. There may be some minor spoilers. Peacemaker is available to stream on HBO Max.

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A Whole New Whirled for Peacemaker

The 1st episode of Peacemaker picks up shortly after the post-credit scene in The Suicide Squad. Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker is healed and ready to leave the hospital. He should be going back to prison but is suddenly free to go home.

Leota Adebayo, Clemson Murn, Emilia Harcourt and John Economos surround Peacemaker shortly after he returns to his trailer. Peacemaker can work off his sentence and stay out of prison by working with Murn’s team on some “contract” work.

Christopher returns to his father’s home. The reunion is the opposite of warm. His racist, abusive father views his son as worthless and tells him as such. Christopher endures the insults long enough to collect his pet eagle, Eagley, and a new helmet.

Donned in his Peacemaker garb, Christopher meets with the team at a restaurant and is given the briefest of overview. After the hilarious dinner scene, Leota and Christopher share a nice moment punctuated with Gunn’s crass humor. On a drive back through the town of Evergreen, he spots Emilia and makes a far too noticeable U-turn. After Emilia destroys a creepy dude at the bar, Christopher takes his shot at a one-night stand. She turns him down but draws the eye of another woman.

After hooking up at her place, the woman attacks Christopher. She has increased strength and an inhuman roar. Christopher is able to escape her apartment and exits out of an upstairs apartment the hard way. He retrieves his helmet and activates a sonic blast, which pulverizes the butterfly.

A Whole New Whirled succeeds on a number of fronts. The episode shines a light on Peacemaker’s background, leaves enough room to establish the team dynamic and succeeds in introducing the villain plot involving Butterflies.

Best Friends, For Never

While still a great episode, Best Friends, For Never is the weakest of the first three episodes. There’s some great physical comedy from Cena, but the middle of the episode is bogged down by a squabbling couple.

Christopher is trying to escape with Emilia’s assistance. In order to avoid the police, he ducks into an apartment. He ties up the couple and flirts with the wife. I just didn’t find the jokes to be in this scene, which is a first in the show.

Once Christopher escapes, the episode significantly improves. Emilia wants to know why the mission went sideways. Christopher eventually takes the blame and the reveal of how he leaked is hilariously lame in the best way possible. He left the dossier on the bed after the hook-up. Murn dispatches Leota to bribe the married couple. Leota is scared of saying the words out loud, so at first, she tries to play charades with Murn.

Christopher returns to his house and breaks down over the poor decisions he’s made. Luckily his BFF Vigilante is creepily lurking outside of his window. A hilarious Louis C.K. story leads to an insane pep talk from Vigilante. The duo head into the woods for some target practices on appliances, which picks up Christopher’s spirits.

Beffer Goff Dead

The 3rd episode is a wonderful blend of Gunn’s comedy with his horror background.

Christopher and the team are working to assassinate a senator who is a suspected butterfly. Once at the senator’s house, Emilia and Christopher take up sniper positions. The quiet moment gives them time to chat and fleshes out Emilia’s backstory just the right amount.

Christopher is unable to pull the trigger on the family of Butterflies. Vigilante quietly nudges his friend aside and takes out the mother and children. Judomaster springs in out of nowhere and knows out Emila, Christopher and Vigilante in a creative fight sequence.

Emilia, Clemson and Leota head into the house to rescue Peacemaker and Vigilante. John stays in the van.

Senator Goff begins torturing Vigilante to get Peacemaker to divulge information. In an explicit tirade, Peacemaker promises he won’t tell this monster anything. The scene is bonkers and concludes with a literal bang.

Peacemaker Premiere Final Thoughts

Peacemaker is Gunn at his best. His constant barrage of comedy and needle drops eventually gives way to actual character development. The 2nd episode gets a bit bogged down by the squabbling couple, but episodes one and three are fantastic throughout. There’s a lot of noise, but what stands out are a pair of quiet scenes in A Whole New Whirled and Better Goff Dead.

A Whole New Whirled allows Christopher and Leota to connect a bit. She meats Eagley, he badly mispronounces his name and he makes another inappropriate comment, but oddly the scene comes off as sweet. In Better Goff Dead, Peacemaker and Harcourt are camping out waiting for the Goffs to return home. They swap stories about their troubled pasts and again the scene plays as sweet. Cena has improved drastically as a dramatic actor and these small scenes provide proof. He uses his eyes and facial reactions to coax Harcourt into divulging just a bit of himself.

I can’t wait to see what the next episode has in store.

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