“Peacemaker” is an insanely odd show, but those oddities combined with the amazing acting of John Cena make it a must watch. It definitely has some parts that seem unnecessary, but those are outshined by the more meaningful parts. It’s characters, plot and amazing humor really excel.
The director of the show, James Gunn, does a great job making the characters feel real. The actions of the characters are often understandable, and when they seemingly aren’t justified, the characters explain their thoughts, which is done just right. Take the character John Economos, played by Steve Agee, who is just bullied by his friends and his enemies. Still, he is up to the task when he is needed.
“Peacemaker” is simply about the character Peacemaker, whose real name is Christopher Smith. He is an unknowingly racist anti-hero played by John Cena. He seeks to make peace no matter how many men, women and children he needs to do it. His father, Auggie Smith, is a villain called the White Dragon who is heavily racist, which is made immediately obvious. Christopher tries to be kind, but he is very obnoxious.
The plot is lost in points, and it does leave viewers wondering where it might go. In time it does center itself and heads back on course. It can seem senseless and almost an entirely violent show, which it sort of is. The main points of the show though are to show viewers that even the worst kind of people can still change and develop. Another recurring idea is the masking of truth, whether it be true feelings or truth in the sense of what someone did. The gore and superhero aspects can compare to the shows “The Boys” and “Invincible,” whether it be through their gore or showing the darker side of superheroes.
The humor can be dark at times, but it is, ultimately, still hilarious. Sometimes its excessive, but if you can keep an open mind, it eventually will resolve itself. Do take note that often the humor will be used to lighten the mood of deeper scenes. That is definitely one problem of the show, but it is just used to show that Peacemaker isn’t really in tune with his own feelings and plays it off as a joke.
Overall, it is a great watch that shouldn’t take too long, having only about 16 hours of content. It keeps you hooked on it for the length of its time.
If you are interested in watching it, it is available on HBO Max. There are two seasons with no new episodes currently dropping. A cliffhanger at the end of season two leaves the hope of this fairly popular show getting a 3rd season.
