Peacemaker shows how James Gunn can excel in healing broken things that didn’t even know how broken they were

The Hollywood Reporter

"The bloodshed and the dick jokes are fun, and the encyclopedic knowledge of the most obscure comic characters is unmatched by fellow comic book filmmakers, but Peacemaker thrives on Gunn’s ability to create human connection between characters who, at least on the surface, not only resist connection but have accepted their place of anonymity," says Richard Newby. He adds that John Cena plays Christopher Smith "as a perpetual child, whose development, emotional maturity and sexual security has been stunted by the fear of his father. As a result, Peacemaker is a child’s idea of a superhero, but rather than being born of hope, tragedy or truth like DC’s Trinity, he’s born of our national shame. Peacemaker lands at a point where the idea of a man raised in an alt-right and Klan-friendly environment seems like it would be an unwelcome addition to superhero storytelling. But it’s because of the contemporary nature of the show that Peacemaker feels topical in a way that’s refreshing, political without chasing the tail of the great Cold War superhero stories of Alan Moore and Frank Miller." ALSO: After skewering superheroes, James Gunn chose sincerity in making Peacemaker.