Peacemaker finally dropped on HBO Max this past Thursday, giving fans a bit of a surprise with the release of the first three episodes on day one. As the follow-up to James Gunn’s DC outing on The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker follows the continuing exploits of ex-con-turned-super-hero Chris Smith, the titular Peacemaker.
After the events of The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker finds himself in a hospital in America, where he’d been laid up recovering for five months after having a building fall on him. When he’s cleared medically, he tries to make off on his own, not wanting to go back to Belle Reve and finish out his prison sentence. However, through the bomb/tracking device in his head, Clemson Murn, an operative working under Amanda Waller, finds Peacemaker and offers him a chance to stay out of prison if he agrees to work for Project: Butterfly.
From the first few episodes, it’s clear that the show is a redemptive arc for Peacemaker. He’s open (with himself at least) about his desire to make connections with people, and he even has trouble following through with some of the dirtier tasks that came easy to him. This is good, since Peacemaker, at least from what we know about him from The Suicide Squad, is not a good person. He’s killed indiscriminately for what he describes as “freedom” and serving jail time because of it. It would feel kind of weird being asked to root for a character like that that doesn’t try to redeem himself.
Unfortunately, that story and the plot about Project Butterfly get bogged down in too much other stuff. One of the B-plots involves Peacemaker’s father, Auggie Smith (played by the T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick), and the dysfunctional relationship the pair have. To help Peacemaker out of a jam, the team frames Auggie for the liquification of the woman Peacemaker had relations with, and Auggie is arrested and locked up. While there, Auggie exerts his dominance over another (black) prisoner, and he’s worshipped by the rest of the (white) prisoners, who call him White Dragon.
And see, the thing is, I don’t care about this character. At all. I’m sure at some point this all becomes integral to the plot and Peacemaker’s growth, but for now, it just makes the episodes drag. This brings me to my biggest gripe about the first three episodes: the pacing.
As I mentioned earlier, HBO Max dropped the first three episodes for the series on Day 1, which wasn’t so much out of benevolence as it was a necessity. The first episode played out as one would expect, with an introduction to the main players while hinting at the overarching storyline without giving too much away. The second episode, however, spends half its runtime trying to get Peacemaker out of an apartment building surrounded by cops, and the other half introducing Vigilante, Peacemaker’s only “friend.” While both of these scenarios are used to develop some of the characterization, both of Peacemaker as well as the rest of the cast, it seems like a long time to spend on two events.
It’s not until the end of Episode Three does the danger escalate, showing the viewer just how dire the situation Peacemaker has found himself in. This is the moment that I suspect HBO figured viewers would get hooked, which is why they needed it available from the drop.
The humor of the show doesn’t grab me either. Peacemaker is full of raunchy humor and long, conversational asides, and it all just falls flat for me. Though I loved The Suicide Squad, I feel like James Gunn is pressing a little too hard here, which is evident from the Bollywood-inspired opening credits. The credits feature the full cast delivering a stone-faced pantomime to “Do You Wanna Taste It” by the Norwegian glam band Wig Wam. It’s kitschy and offbeat and meant to set the tone of the show. Which it does just fine, but it goes so far for me that it becomes a parody of itself.
The choice of opening music also follows in the show’s musical theme. Peacemaker is very much stuck in his own time, so the score consists of hair metal and 80s power ballads. But not ones that you’d recognize; though the show makes references to more popular 80s bands like Cinderella and… well, just Cinderella. The music itself is from more-obscure-yet-somehow-real groups like The Quireboys and Tigertailz. The soundtrack certainly is cohesive and fits the theme of the show, but again, so many of the musical choices felt like a parody.
I realize I spent a lot of time talking about what I didn’t like about the show, but it’s not all bad. John Cena is great as Peacemaker, which we’ve known since The Suicide Squad. His stilted delivery is well suited for thick-headed characters like these, and he carries himself very arrogant, which fits the role. He’s also got the build to pull off the action, evidenced by the three-minute fight scene in tighty whities.
The rest of the cast is great as well. Danielle Brooks plays Leota Adebayo, the audience surrogate for the show. She’s the member of the team that doesn’t have a background in Wetwork, so she’s constantly trying to keep up with everyone else. Brooks has a way about her in the role, a quiet cool but constantly anxious. She’s also the daughter of Amanda Waller, the cold-hearted creator of Task Force X, who also shows up in the first episode through a surprise appearance by Viola Davis.
Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee reprise their (small) roles from The Suicide Squad as Emilia Harcourt and John Economos (respectively). Both do well with what they have, though Holland gets a little more play within the story. She’s a tough-as-nails badass who grew up around guns and becomes the counterpoint to Peacemaker. She’s what Peacemaker could have become if he wasn’t raised by a racist psychopath. This at least creates an interesting dichotomy between the characters and furthers Peacemaker’s attraction to Harcourt (besides the “just getting out of jail” thing).
I also have to say that Chukwudi Iwuji is fantastic as Murn. His emotionless affectation plays well to team leader with a mysterious past and red in his ledger. But that side of him is often offset by his constant confusion by Peacemaker’s actions. I love seeing the tough guy characters completely thrown for a loop through the recklessness and impulsiveness of someone else.
Then there’s Eagly, the bald eagle. Less a pet and more a sidekick, Eagly is the humor that I do enjoy. From the moment he was introduced when he wrapped his wings around Peacemaker in a hug, Eagly was exactly what I wanted in the show. It’s just a CGI bird, but it’s been imbued with a deep-seated personality. The moment after Peacemaker blew up the “butterfly” with a sonic boom and Eagly came down to give him a dead possum was the funniest thing to me. I would happily trade all of the raunchy humor for the tender moments between a boy and his bird.
A look at my post history will tell you that I’m a Marvel fan, so the tone of Peacemaker didn’t really grab me. Though I don’t hate this show, I wasn’t very impressed by it. In fairness, I didn’t think Peacemaker was that interesting of a character to begin with, so I give James Gunn credit for even attempting to expand on his story. I’m going to continue to watch the show; after all, another five hours isn’t that much of an investment, and I do have faith in Gunn to pull all of the parts together. And I honestly do want to like it; it’s just a shame that hasn’t happened so far.
