Peacemaker

It’s not essential to have seen 2021’s The Suicide Squad film before watching Peacemaker, but it would certainly be helpful. The series continues a narrative that began in the film, with a few spoilers for anyone who hasn’t gotten around to watching it just yet. That being said, this is a mainstream superhero series, so while the plot is distractingly elaborate, it’s not exactly cerebral. It does mean that Peacemaker maybe isn’t quite a standalone show, but more one that stands adjacent to its cinematic predecessor.

Having required hospitalisation following the events of the film, Christopher Smith (the not-so-secret alias of Peacemaker – played by John Cena) manages to avoid prosecution in exchange for becoming a hitman for a shadowy government organisation, which has been tasked with hunting down vaguely supernatural entities that are taking over human bodies for supposedly heinous purposes. Whatever the specifics, it’s seemingly not a problem that can’t be solved with lashings of stylised violence.  

Peacemaker is slick, sleek, frenetically paced and doesn’t have an original thought in its well-groomed head. A conspicuously flawed, though likeable protagonist, a cast of stock supporting characters who communicate in quips, enough f-bombs to rival a Martin Scorcese film, the inherent silliness of super-powered or highly capable individuals wearing costumes and fighting crime – the series walks a well-trod path, but it walks confidently. 

It’s all been done before (the Deadpool films, Amazon’s The Boys), but it’s still rather endearing, largely due to Cena’s presence. He remains utterly charming even when boasting about the size of his genitals or having fast-paced conversations about whether Aquaman’s fondness for fish has ever become… intimate. The creative team seems to assume that there isn’t a single scene that couldn’t be improved with the inclusion of yet another loud 80s hair metal track. The show is in fact so loud and busy that it may be unsuitable for dedicated bingeing without risking a migraine. Still, it’s more than sufficiently entertaining, in a familiar, comfortable way. Peacemaker doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it merely spins it frantically, noisily and gleefully.   

Oliver Johnston

Peacemaker is released on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership on 22^nd March 2022.

Watch the trailer for Peacemaker here: