Peacemaker review: HBO Max’ Suicide Squad series lets John Cena slay

“Eat peace, motherfuckers!”

That’s the comically hypocritical battle cry of Peacemaker (John Cena), who Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn describes as a “superhero, supervillain, and world’s biggest douchebag.” Peacemaker is the titular character of HBO Max’s hard R-rated Peacemaker series, a spin-off and continuation of Gunn’s 2021 DC superhero film Suicide Squad, Peacemaker follows the aftermath of the film for Peacemaker (aka Christopher Smith), no longer in prison and now assigned a team to help him in his quest for peace (“No matter how many men, women, and children” have to die in the process).

Set up Suicide SquadThis team comprises Amanda Waller, (Viola Davis), and two of her subordinates. They were put on Peacemaker duty by John Economos (Steve Agee), and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), jittery techno guy John Economos. Joining this ragtag team of misfits — some might call them some kind of suicide squad — are rookie Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks); Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), an even more violent and deranged “superhero” than Peacemaker; and leader Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), who has a bloody reputation from his black-ops work. Along the way, the team has to work together to defeat alien creatures known as “butterflies” — and also take on white supremacy and toxic masculinity.

With Suicide Squad touted as coming from “the beautifully twisted mind” of James Gunn, it’s worth noting that Peacemaker isn’t just a TV project Gunn stamped his name on as executive producer and stepped away from. Gunn directed only three of the eight episodes and wrote every episode. Peacemaker is completely James Gunn’s vision, which is, in a lot of ways, a superhero Eastbound & Down. (That show’s co-creator, Jody Hill, also directed a Peacemaker episode, which tracks with the show’s tone and sense of humor.)

Max. Photo by Max.

Suicide Squad’s hyperviolence continues in the series, with careful attention put into practical effects like having a background corpse continue to ooze blood. The R rating is also due to salty language and unwelcome female nudity. Given this style, it’s fair to ask whether the series is mocking edgelord-y teenage-boy sensibilities, as the buffoonery of characters like Peacemaker and Vigilante would suggest that it is, or whether it’s leaning right into them. A lot of evidence suggests the former, given how the series treats Peacemaker’s potential for growth. Gunn clearly gets a lot of pleasure from threading the needle of ridiculing exploitative excess while simultaneously taking full advantage. It’s a great approach that allows the cast to give interesting performances. The actors balance heavy drama and crass juvenile humor very well.

More than Peacemaker: The Suicide SquadFeels like Gunn has completed the film in 2010. SuperThese vigilantes are on a mission for peace and cleansing the streets. They have been brought to life by a larger budget and some well-known (but obscure) comics characters. Gunn establishes Peacemaker and especially Vigilante as much more effective versions of Rainn Wilson’s The Crimson Bolt from Super, though these days, Gunn is far more interested in tackling his anti-heroes’ moral ambiguity and mental headspace.

That specific focus on Peacemaker’s intentions make him fascinating to follow after Suicide SquadNow, he must face past acts that many would call outright evil. He’s at a crossroads in his life as a self-identified superhero. As charming as John Cena is, the initial idea of Gunn spending more time and effort focusing in on an “alt-right douchebag” mass murderer with a warped sense of peace didn’t seem like a worthwhile aim. But the series shows Gunn is invested in interrogating and investigating how people adopt extreme and harmful beliefs, and how they might change, not just on their own, but with other people’s help.

Max. Photo by Max.

It is the villains that make this series a bit confusing. Gunn has no problem acknowledging as soon as possible that the season’s Big Bad is 100% a retread of the Suicide Squad’s Big Bad: The series’ Project Butterfly is named for an alien butterfly villain. Gunn clearly wants to reveal that immediately, because the latest body-snatching villain isn’t necessarily the point of either the series or its first-season arc. But there’s a problem in Gunn’s insistence on withholding a reveal about whether the butterflies are actually hurting their hosts by inhabiting their bodies. That doesn’t come up until very late in the season — the characters don’t even ask the question.

Which would be fine if this wasn’t the type of thing an audience would ask. But Peacemaker lives in a “shoot first, ask questions later” (if ever) world that’s more concerned with how cool the violence looks than whether it’s necessary. Peacemaker lives in an “shoot first, ask questions later” world that is more concerned with how violent violence looks than whether it’s necessary. Suicide Squad, Gunn pulls off the team’s lack of curiosity or examination of their situation more effectively, in a bit where the team tries to save Rick Flag from his kidnappers, and ends up massacring many innocent people. This gag was short enough to fit into a 2-hour film. It is a disservice for the story and its characters to spread the same thoughtless act over many hours and not examine it until the literal eleventh hour.

The show doesn’t fully absolve Peacemaker of his past actions, on or offscreen. He continues to be the misinformed doofus he’s been since his introduction, even if he’s trying to be better. To make Peacemaker look better, it intentionally includes worse people. While Gunn apparently believes Peacemaker is capable of growth, he also presents a foil in Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick), Peacemaker’s abusive, unrepentant white-supremacist father. Gunn presents Peacemaker confidently as incapable of making changes, despite the fact that his son wants them to. And then there’s the absolute psychopath Vigilante, who indiscriminately murders people for even minor wrongdoing, and doesn’t understand or comprehend introspection. However, Vigilante does not consider Auggie to be explicit white supremacy.

Similar to almost every movie and TV show over the last few years. Peacemaker is ultimately about navigating trauma — not just the aftermath of Suicide SquadBut the pain of growing up with a man such as Auggie and trying to be a bad man is something that was very difficult.

Max. Photo by Max.

Cena receives a lot of material, and Gunn attempts to unravel the Peacemaker character as well as his sad mental state. He’s capable of pulling it off, even while he’s being scored by cheesy ’80s metal. (“There’s no wrong time to rock” is an important part of Peacemaker’s ethos, from the captivating opening credits — which show Gunn actually set out to make a TV show and not just an eight-hour movie — to the near-constant soundtrack.) He’s already proven he can sell the comedy of the character, and it’s clear throughout the series that Cena is especially capable when it comes to improvisation. Cena’s ability to handle the emotional weight that made the character more than a joke was the main point of this series.

And that’s what lets Cena find the heart of scenes where he’s sadly rocking out to hair metal, or emotionally connecting with a CGI bald eagle. Eagly is a great highlight of the series. He evokes actual, heartfelt reactions, and not just in scenes where he’s alone. Or with CGI-generated creations. His earnest scenes with Brooks and Holland work to make the audience long for him to get his act together, even when it’s clear how many things are standing in his way. As the season progresses and the Peacemaker team spends more time with the guy, they realize that try as they might, it’s hard not to feel for the him. And it’s definitely hard not to want to rock out with him and his pet eagle.

These are the three first episodes Peacemaker The season premieres Thursday, January 13th on HBO Max. The season will continue with weekly episodes.