Peacemaker Review Round-Up: What Critics Are Saying About The First DCEU Series

John Cena's character Peacemaker steps into the spotlight after The Suicide Squad with his own HBO Max series starting January 13. As of this writing, you can head over to that streaming service and check out the first three episodes--the rest of the series will be released weekly through February 17.

Like that DC film, Peacemaker is written by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy). Gunn also steps in to direct several of Season 1's episodes, with Jody Hill (The Righteous Gemstones), Rosemary Rodriguez (Jessica Jones), and Brad Anderson (The Wire) directing on others. In addition to Cena, the series stars Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick.

As of this writing, Peacemaker has an aggregate score of 69 on Metacritic based on 17 critic reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a much more favorable 92% based on 38 reviews. These scores will likely shift as other outlets publish their takes, but based on the reviews we have now, it looks like if you're already inclined to watch the movie you will be in for a good time.

Below, you'll see a selection of the many reviews of Scream that have already been published. This includes GameSpot's own review.

Peacemaker

• Created and Written by: James Gunn
• Starring: John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick.
• Premiere Date: January 13

GameSpot - 9/10

"Hopefully, there is a plan for many more seasons of Peacemaker on HBO Max. After introducing this team and making viewers care about them, there has to be more stories to tell--and people to kill--down the road." - Chris E. Hayner - [Full review]

IGN Movies - 8/10

"Peacemaker isn't quite as sharply written as Amazon's The Boys, but James Gunn is aiming for the same sort of subversive superhero show, using excessive violence and biting humor to deconstruct the failings of the genre." - Samantha Nelson - [Full review]

Chicago Sun-Times - 3/4

"Brimming with references to D.C. characters such as Harley Quinn and Aquaman and brutally frank jokes about real-world figures, Peacemaker is a James Gunn creation through and through." - Richard Roeper - [Full review]

Guardian - 3/5

"Peacemaker's a likable lunkhead easy to spend time with, the main raison d'etre for a series that dims whenever he's not onscreen." - Charles Bramesco - [Full review]

NPR - No Score

"Gunn has given himself and his actors more room to play than he's ever been allotted - eight hours' worth - and hasn't figured out how to fill it with anything but the same labored joke, again and again and again." - Glen Weldon - [Full review]

The Hollywood Reporter - No Score

"For all the show's feints toward edginess, it colors well within the lines laid out by its predecessors. That's not entirely to its detriment - it makes Peacemaker a comfort rather than a challenge." - Angie Han - [Full review]

Rolling Stone - 4/5

"An unapologetic parody of superhero shows that's also a pretty good superhero show in its own right." - Alan Sepinwall - [Full review]