Peacemaker is a television series directed by James Gunn whose story is part of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and a spin-off of Suicide Squad (2021), which Gunn also worked on. The film still stars John Cena as the quirky superhero, alongside Jennifer Holland, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Robert Patrick, and Steve Agee. The film has seven episodes with an average duration of about 40 minutes. Of the many DC superhero series, Peacemaker is the first series directly related to the DCEU. Does Peacemaker have the quality or the same bad reputation as some of its cinematic universe films?
After the Suicide Squad incident, Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker, shot and crushed by a building collapse, turned out still alive. After being released from the hospital, Chris is forced to join a small team to investigate and destroy the existence of butterflies, which are aliens that can enter the body and control the human mind. Chris also faces childhood trauma and his brutal father. Chris and his colleagues, who are still amateurs, make every effort to do something impossible.
Wasn’t the Peacemaker dead? Yes, that’s right, but now, any film script is no longer impossible if it can make money, right? With a little argument, and boom! Peacemaker comes back to life. There’s no point in discussing this matter. The story was dead from the start. One interesting thing here is Gunn’s aesthetic touch which is imprinted everywhere. Gunn, who also worked on Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & 2, apparently finds its true style in the brutal and extreme Suicide Squad. Gunn did everything he couldn’t do in “moral” Marvel films. Now, through Peacemaker, Gunn’s stamps are becoming more and more.
Dialogue with harsh words and swearing is the most dominant. There isn’t a single minute where the word “f**k” isn’t thrown around—the dialogue element may be 90% of the script’s content rather than the action scenes. Deadpool and Logan have done this long before, and it’s nothing new. The first long dialogue in the opening scene of episode 01, between Chris and the hospital’s cleaning service, is a good example of the dialogue throughout the series. For the genre, this series could be breaking the record for the use of harsh words, that’s not including the number of deaths (whether human or alien, for me, it’s the same).
Gunn’s seal is everywhere, including the narrative theme. The family side, especially Chris’ relationship with his father, becomes one of the main plot points (Remember the plot of Guardian Vol. 2, between Quill and Ego?). The characters are unique and eccentric, never serious, and harshly swear at each other, the same as Guardian. Between those rough and brutal figures, there was a warmth there. Yes, family. This side looks personal to filmmakers. Then for the aesthetic side, of course, the most dominant are songs and music, which is dominated by the slow rock genre. There’s hardly a single scene that doesn’t have a rock song in it, from the opening to the ending credits.
Peacemaker, with the dominance of comedy dialogue, vulgar and brutal action, plus the aesthetic touch of the filmmaker, may be perfect for the target audience but may not be for the majority of the audience. Peacemaker is nothing new for the filmmaker, only this time he gets a bigger space and the freedom to do whatever he wants. It’s just a matter of audience taste. I could only enjoy a handful of moments in this film, not because I wasn’t entertained, but often the action and jokes went too far.
