Peacemaker
(Own copy)
Rating: 8.5 /10 - James Gunn's best so far
Plot and stuff:
Following on from the events of
The Suicide Squad the series follows Peacemaker who was seemingly left for dead that film along with some of the subordinates of Amanda Waller who lets say strongly objected to her plans and worked against them in that film as they're now a black ops team working to take down a treat called "The Butterflies" which threatens humanity.
Thoughts (mostly Non spoiler):
Know this, I really didn't like The Suicide Squad as much as others. I'd even say it was worse than the David Ayer one (at least the extended cut), that film felt too James Gunn going as close to Troma as he could and going full weird and gore for shock value / weirding out value. There were things to I like about that film but it would have required stripping a a fair bit of the stuff and retooling it to make it actually work better as there's core bits that are good but it's the other stuff wrapping round it that was off putting for me (and to be clear I've read most of New 52 suicide squad so fucked up shit isn't an issue it's just James Gunn's felt like trying to be an edgelord for edgelords sake rather than actually being grim dark and grimey as such.)
Now I've spent a paragraph slamming the film that's a prequel to this serious let me say, Peacemaker is not that. Peacemaker is seemingly James Gun nearly perfecting his formula as such for Superhero story telling with seemingly more effective use of gore being shock value when it's meant to be shocking not just for the sake of it but also comedic "WTF dude" when it needs to be too and managing to differentiate the two well. The story fleshes out Peacemaker into a more 3 dimensional character and turns what was a more unlikeable villain due to events in the film into a pretty sympathetic sort of anti-hero verging on full fledged hero in his own right.
In terms of issues with it, my main issues are two things:
1. What I'm calling Gunn dialogue - People know of the fairly now infamous Wheddon dialogue, full of quips and often taking the piss out of it's own concept. Gunn dialogue is something I'm noticing appears in a lot of his stuff recently that is characters being deliberate assholes to other characters with the goal of upsetting or pissing them off and being jackasses or acting like internet trolls would to people. It's deliberately mocking characters or belittling them to make one character seem more like an asshole. It also feels like almost filler stuff. It's not really entertaining and most of the time it doesn't serve a purpose beyond trying to emphasise more how much of an asshole a character is.
2. So many plot threads just left open or things just not explained. There feels like a lot of little bits set up in the show which never come to a pay off or never fully pay off at the end and I get that Gunn is probably hoping for a 2nd series of this where they could be better paid off but I feel like there could have been more satisfying bits such that this could work as more of an ending in it's own right with a potential 2nd season picking back up rather than leaving some bits open and some arcs only near completion not actually completed.
Some things worthy of serious praise
- The intro trailer bit I posted really does showcase the show in a weird way in that it is inherently silly in a number of ways from some of the premise to the happenings etc and over the top. BUT just like the dance number it's played seriously, no-one is laughing and making silly jokes about how stupid it all is, there's no nudge nudge wink wink to the audience. The show trusts the audience enough to be able to see this is silly but basically says "Yeh it's going to be silly in places but try to get into it as enjoy"
- The cast is great, I'd say Annie Chang is a real stand out which is saying something with how good the rest of the cast are but she just seemed to bring something more to her performances and an almost impressive intensity to them even when her character pivots somewhat later in the show she gives a different but equally intense performance.
- James Gunn's use of musical score, I think few people really integrate musical scores quite the way James Gunn does such that it feels far more organic
- Managing to make Peacemaker a far more complex character that works so well.
- The imagery and symbolism in parts. I mean Gunn has managed some nice scenes before like The Suicide Squad walking in the rain but that felt beautiful but for the sake of beauty while here he pulls off some scenes that really feel like they have symbolism to them and more meaning.
Time to put on your Xray helmet because it's time for spoilers
So the show does a really great job of portraying Peacemaker as a tragic result of things that happened to him with him accidentally killing his brother in a silly fight their dad arranged to have others in the trailer park bet on and his brother suffering a seizure after being punched by Peacemaker. I do feel they could have gone a bit more into why it showed Peacemaker being made to kill a tied up man by his Dad (what had the guy actually done or was accused of doing etc). I liked the idea of showing how much of an asshole his dad actually was and is and how they don't see eye to eye but Peacemaker not being an asshole was still trying to make things work and make his Dad proud by fighting crime (the one thing he and his dad agree on is bad).
I really enjoyed the symbolism being used round the white supremacist group worshiping "The white Dragon" which for anyone whose heard about the real life hate groups will realise is sort of a reference to I think it's the Grand Dragon who is head of said group. Also the symbolism of The White Dragon punching Peacemakers pet Eagle being very symbolism of the idea of said groups being unamerican.
The show also feels like James Gunn looked at a number of criticism often thrown at media and went "Here's my answer" for example a common issue with "girl boss characters" and one I believe was initially levelled at this show early on is the "How is that 120lb chick throwing round 300 lb guys like he's a sack of dirty washing nothing more?" with the introduction of the barely 5 foot tall character Judo Master who just runs round schooling the characters because as with Judo he knows how to use peoples size and power against them as such.
I do feel a few tricks were missed though: Personally I'd have liked detective Song to have survived because damn do I kind of want a spinoff show with her leading investigations into Supervillains or something. I feel like Judo Master they spent a lot of time setting stuff up only for the end to not really pay it off as the character runs round for the last 2 episodes as like a C or D plot only to turn up after the battle is long done and shed a tear then eat a flaming hot cheeto. I feel like Gunn should have carried on the running Vigilante doesn't take off his mask gag by having him still refusing to do so even after everyone knows who he is or his compromise being having his visor now flip up or something rather than mostly abandoning wearing the mask, just to sort of play into the idea of how Vigilante doesn't have an arc being his arc, he doesn't grow or evolve he is like a constant factor to work to show sort of where Peacemaker started from. Gunn set up Economos returning to Belle Reave prison to seemingly steal some files but never really paid off or explained that either. Also I feel like Gunn should have added one last bit to Peacemaker's arc by showing the shot of Hardcourt learning to walk again then sort of zooming out to show through the hospital window Peacemaker watching it happen then maybe walking towards a therapy centre area because also the whole "Peacemaker has PTSD" plotline doesn't really get resolved if anything it just escalates later on.
I do feel like there was some nice set up and payoff moments like early on Peacemaker now out of hospital and prison wanting to get laid and it showing how it sticks round with the chick after (up until she literally attacks him and is revealed as a dangerous Meta) contrasted with Peacemaker's father shagging some chick then immediately getting up after to leave and hunt down Peacemaker.
It also felt odd that quite left wing James Gunn basically made Peacemaker a character who is a product of the past but kind of goes "And maybe that's not a bad thing because that stuff from the past isn't bad" which I'm shocked I've seen little outrage about from the side normally claiming to be "progressive"