“Peacemaker” comes to HBO Max: Brian Lowry's review

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(CNN) --

The opening credits of "Peacemaker" feature John Cena and the rest of the cast in a choreographed dance number that's gleefully silly, setting the tone for what's to come.

If only this HBO Max series that grew out of "The Suicide Squad" was consistently as good, despite (and in part because of) the freedom it gave writer-director James Gunn to cut loose entirely.

In what seemed like a marvelous move, Gunn planted the seeds for spectacle in the August movie "Squad," moving Cena's weapons-savvy assassin from a set to center stage, surrounded by new characters and strange threats to society. humanity, albeit at a very slow pace.

Cena's bulky physique belies how comfortable he is playing the clown, and "Peacemaker" gives him and Gunn a chance to enjoy it in the most classified way possible with little adult supervision.

Having as much fun as it sounds is unfortunately another matter.

Even for comic book geeks, the crush of winking jokes and coy references to the more respectable quadrants of the DC universe is starting to feel like overkill, reducing the project's appeal.

Likewise, while some of those insider moments are clever, more often than not they're just juvenile.

Of course, that general attitude worked for "Deadpool," and even if the attraction is limited to a cult contingent, that's probably good enough for a streaming service looking to build loyalty (like CNN, HBO Max is a unit of WarnerMedia).

Still, "Peacemaker" feels a bit too committed to playing in the small zone of the superhero genre.

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Following his near-death experience in the film, Cena's character is placed in the custody of an elite team, tasked with carrying out assassinations to avert an existential danger that basically hides in plain sight.

The squad includes another newcomer (Danielle Brooks of "Orange is the New Black") who has her own secret, an intense leader (Chukwudi Iwuji) and his second-in-command (Jennifer Holland), with whom Peacemaker continues to awkwardly flirt despite of his declared lack of interest.

Adding to the levity is the Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), another costumed assassin who looks up to Peacemaker and is even more unapologetically psychotic.

Eventually, the various threads begin to come together, but Gunn, who wrote all eight episodes and directed several, seems far more enamored with the overall atmosphere than moving the story forward, indulging in detours and musical flourishes along the way. That includes a grim subplot involving Peacemaker's father (Robert Patrick), a white supremacist whose history is dark even by the show's anything-goes standards.

Spanning eight episodes, "Peacemaker" represents both a fairly turbulent binge and an illustration of the excesses streaming allows as an incentive to attract big-name talent.

While there wouldn't have been much theatrical market for a dedicated spinoff, on HBO Max -- already home to DC series like "Titans" and "Doom Patrol" -- it's more ammunition to retain die-hard fans. , but creatively, all bets are off.

To that extent, "Peacemaker" doesn't exactly fail, at least to those predisposed to believe it.

But even factoring in that, and Gunn's shotgun approach to comedy, it doesn't quite find its mark either.

"Peacemaker" premiered on January 13 on HBO Max with its first three episodes.

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