 Peacemaker just wrapped up on its season one, eight episode run, so I had the brilliant idea, unlike anyone else on YouTube, to review the season. Yeah. We're doing crazy things over here. Subscribe. First thing I need to point out is that introduction to Peacemaker, that song, the dance choreography, perfection. I have to have an uncomfortable fight with my wife every time we watch the intro. She wants to skip it. Because she hates joy? Because she hates fun? I guess that's why she married me. But still, I love this introduction to the show. It's so bonkers. It's so off the wall. Everyone's uncomfortably dancing. Just serious as all hell. You got villains and heroes mixed in together. It's so James Gunn. And that's a big takeaway that's either a turn on or a turn off for people. James Gunn has a very specific type of humor. Fratch level is being generous. Dick jokes constantly. Badge jokes for good measure. Every character in this show drops F-bombs so often you would think it was required for living. Which is a negative I have about the show, but let me first talk about everything that works. And mind you, I really love the first season of Peacemaker. James Gunn's kind of made a name for himself from films like Guardians of the Galaxy for having great music in his films. Peacemaker continues the trend with hair metal bands. A good chunk of them I've never heard of. I don't know if they're one hit wonders from back in the 80s or 70s. Or if these are brand new up and coming hair metal bands. Obviously there's a Cinderella throw it out for good measure. We get House of Pain in there. There's some awesome tracks. Usually with the TV series, I'll find one or two characters that really annoy the hell out of me. Not in this instance. Peacemaker has a good chunk of varied characters that are all likable in their own ways. Even those that are just miserable, awful people. You can find something to kind of latch on to and appreciate about them. Although they are varied. They look different. You got lesbians. You got freaking racists. You got like the whole spectrum of people. The one main thing they have in common, which is a problem in the writing department, is they all talk the same. They all swear constantly. They all have these smart ass quips to throw at each other. Retorts just on hand ready to go. They get in weird conversations that ultimately don't go anywhere. They're kind of like Quentin Tarantino-esque in that fashion. They don't progress the plot any. They're just kind of observations on the side. And while these can be fun, at times they actually are a setback for the show. Especially in the final episode where I found myself in the first 15 minutes thinking like, are we padding this out for some reason? This is supposed to be the high stakes episode, and I'm listening to two guys argue about whether or not ants are important. It just felt out of place in the episode that overall ended spectacularly, but started out pretty sour. I like I would assume a very large majority of people didn't know anything about Peacemaker outside of the Suicide Squad film. So I had no expectations for the character. I knew he was kind of a naive dipshit who was very strong and had no problem killing anyone. But the way they broke him down, the way that we jumped into a psyche and learned things about his past, it really made for a compelling character. And I loved the growth he had over the course of just these eight episodes. And I know this has been greenlit for a second season, so I'm glad that it wasn't fully closed. Although at the same time, I'm a little bit disappointed James Gunn went with the ghost dad trope that we've seen so many times. Thankfully, it's not used often, but I have a bad feeling that if we get a second season, we're going to see a lot more of that. We even have famous superheroes show up later that say some things that are very out of character from what's been established previously. And I saw online some people were pissed off by who showed up and who didn't more specifically. I don't blame James Gunn. That's a Warner Brothers decision. The whole DCEU is a mess, in my opinion. I don't know what the hell they're doing. I don't think they know what they're doing. They got rid of Snyder, clearly, but they're kind of treating Snyder like an ex-girlfriend that they once in a while hook up with and it's really hot and wild and raunchy. But they know it can't last. They know that they're not good for each other at the end of the day. The other thing I really liked about the show was the unbridled violence. I love the bloody gore. I like that limbs get chopped off. I like that James Gunn's not pulling punches here and he's just going for broke. Outside of John Cena's fantastic performance, I gotta give it up to Eagley. Eagley's the MVP of this. That CG Eagle is beautifully rendered and he's got a heart of gold. Constantly trying to make Peacemaker happy. Vigilante, aka Adrian Chase, is another standout. He was so good. I like that he just doesn't give a shit. He will kill anyone and anything in his path. Unlike Peacemaker, who has developed over the course of the show and has a bit of a conscience to him, Adrian Chase doesn't give a shit. He's just all in. He also has a really bizarre code of honor that's completely fucked. He'll shoot two people just for witnessing him do something, but those same two people that he's told not to kill, he'll treat very humanely afterwards. So he'll be very respectful and make sure they're not hurt. The frantic shaky cam action worked really well, especially when you know there's choreography going on. James Gunn still pulls back enough so you can see what's happening on the screen. I never felt lost or confused because the camera was falling on the ground to mask the clearly ugly choreography. It's there. It's happening. It looks great. Jennifer Holland's character, Harcourt, gets one of the best action scenes in episode six or seven, I believe. Annie Chang, his detective song, was another favorite from my wife and I. She's just this cute little thing who's on the hunt for peacemaker in his team before she becomes a total threat herself. While some of the dialogue can be sloppy at times, what Gunn always gets right for me is the heart and soul of his properties. Man, when this thing ends, I'm feeling a lot of things for all these characters. I'm scared that someone's not going to pull through. I'm happy when another one does and I have a whole mixed bag of emotions when that final shot pulls away. It's just a great show all around. While it's not perfect, it's easily one of the best superhero TV shows I've seen and it's just a damn fine show all around. If you have seen it, let me know in the comments what you thought. Like the video if you had a good time and make sure to subscribe as I put out lots of movie and television content here. Since you stuck around, maybe also think about joining me on Patreon at patreon.com slash adam does movies. I'm a one man operation here. I do all this stuff by myself, the writing, the filming, the editing. I'm very passionate about this hobby but it's very tiring all the same especially since I have kids and a full-time job to boot. So if you could do anything over there that'd be great. You can also join right here on YouTube via that YouTube join button. There's a couple ways to say, hey Adam, I like what you're doing. Keep going. Here's a dollar. Here's 10 bucks. Keep it up. Keep it up. And I will.