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Blu-Ray : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
Sale Price: $21.69 Last Price: $ Buy now! 3rd Party 26.37 In Stock
Release Date: November 22nd, 2022 Movie Release Year: 2022

Peacemaker: The Complete First Season

Overview -

John Cena and James Gunn have delivered an utter goldmine of comedy and emotions with Peacemaker Season One as it continues to tell the story of Peacemaker and his team who take on an alien threat to Earth. It's simply phenomenal from start to finish. The lossless DTS-HD 5.1 audio track sounds great and the 1080p HD video transfer looks amazing. The extras are all worth watching and quite funny and informative. Highly Recommended!

 

PEACEMAKER explores the origins of the character that John Cena first portrayed in James Gunn's 2021 film, "The Suicide Squad" – a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.

 

BLU-RAY AND DVD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Making the World Safe for Violence: Peacemaker's Team (Exclusive for Blu-ray and DVD)
  • Bad Daddy Issues: Peacemakers Search for Inner Peace (Exclusive for Blu-ray and DVD)
  • Gag Reel (Exclusive for Blu-ray and DVD)
  • Peacemaker: Under the Helmet
  • Project Butterfly Team Member
    • Peacemaker
    • Adebayo
    • Harcourt
    • John Economos
    • Vigilante
    • Murn
    • Eagly
  • On Set with Steve Agee
  • Dramatic Comic Book Readings with Chukwudi Iwuji
  • Unlocking the Quantum Unfolding Storage Area
  • Peacemaker and Vigilante: BFFs
  • So, What Do You Really Think of Peacemaker?
  • Danielle Brooks Explains the DC Universe
  • Keep the Tweets
  • Dance for Peace
  • How to Properly Give a F*ck

EIGHT ONE-HOUR EPISODES

  1. A Whole New Whirled
  2. Best Friends, For Never
  3. Better Goff Dead
  4. The Choad Less Traveled
  5. Monkey Dory
  6. Murn After Reading
  7. Stop Dragon My Heart Around
  8. It’s Cow or Never

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Blu-ray + Digital
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p AVC/MPEG-4
Length:
480
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.39:1
Audio Formats:
English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH
Release Date:
November 22nd, 2022

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

The MCU has certainly done a marvelous job of bridging the gap between its feature films and television shows, keeping its long narrative of stories and characters intact while introducing new people and furthering those decade-long story arcs. Even though the DCEU has multiple timelines in their cinematic universe that do not coincide with their CW superhero shows, they are still fun in their own lanes. But when James Gunn came aboard with his version of The Suicide Squad, the DCEU knew immediately they had struck gold and had finally been able to reach the fans much like how the MCU had been doing for so long. One new character from Suicide Squad hit that amazing chord with audiences that conjured up its own TV Show titled Peacemaker, which follows the somewhat superhero played by John Cena and directed by Gunn. The results are nothing less than spectacular, thrilling, fun, and emotional - making this the perfect bridge from feature film to the small screen in the DCEU.

In flawless James Gunn fashion, his ability to evoke real genuine emotions along with some brilliant comedy is uncanny within the superhero genre. It was seen in Guardians of the Galaxy and every one of his previous movies. It's not mandatory to watch Suicide Squad before embarking on the Peacemaker journey, but it does help. But Gunn understands this and gives a brilliant and hilarious prelude before the first episode starts that showcases the titular character in Suicide Squad and how he ended up in the hospital at the end of the film. After being let out of prison and forced into this elite team to take out a giant starfish, Peacemaker starts out more or less the same way as Peacemaker (Cena) and whose character's civilian name is Chris Smith is forced yet again into a new elite team that will send him down a rabbit hole of emotions that will confront not only otherworldly aliens and wacky characters, but also his own family and personal demons from his past. And with Gunn at the helm both behind the camera and screenplay, these elements play out wonderfully.

If Chris didn't accept this mission and team, he would be sent back to prison by a former recognizable foe. The leader of this outfit is Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), who tries to keep the intense details of this mission a secret from the Peacemaker for various reasons. Along for the ride and adding a ton of subtle, nuanced emotion are Emiia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) who is a weapon and martial arts expert, John Economos (Steve Agee), the computer and technology wizard, and Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), the assistant to Peacemaker who is hired not only to help him but to keep tabs on the whole operation for better or worse.  There are other fantastic characters that pop up, including Peacemaker's best friend who is a layered psychopathic superhero, and a small ninja who can't seem to stay down. This treasure trove of kooky characters is what Gunn does best and their eventual bonding over music and world-ending situations results in a fantastic look into the complex emotions of superheroes. This aspect has been written and shown for decades in comic books and movies, but not quite like here in Peacemaker.

Behind all of the action sequences, alien invasion, and big superhero types of sequences lies a much more grounded story about a group of people confronting their own past and bettering themselves. With Peacemaker himself, his outer shell is cold, frigid, and blunt to a fault. But underneath, his childhood trauma with his supervillain father (Robert Patrick) who consistently hates his son due to a freak accident from their past hits all the emotional chords as Peacemaker tries to navigate his own kindness and change through his new friends, trust issues, and of course his pet Eagle. And the transformation and payoff are so sweet and endearing. Peacemaker Season One is a welcome addition to the superhero universe and television in general because it shows that superheroes and big, strong, brash characters have a softer side. What a wonderful first season and let's all hope there's more.

 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Peacemaker Season One shoots its way to Blu-ray via Warner Bros with two Blu-ray discs and a digital code. Both discs are housed inside a hard, blue plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. The artwork features the cast of the show. The reverse artwork has the episode titles and bonus features on each disc.

Video Review

Ranking:

Peacemaker Season One comes with a brilliant 1080p HD transfer that looks incredible. The color palette boasts natural primaries in the exterior settings of farmland or in small cities. The green pastures, beige hay bales, and blue skies contrast nicely with the brighter colors of the red, blue, and yellow of Peacemaker's uniform. The darker sequences at night or in caves showcase inky black levels that never reveal crush or bleeding. The secret lair underneath Peacemaker's childhood home has a sleeker and cooler look than the warmer nature of the rest of the show. Skin tones are always natural.

The detail is vivid and sharp in every lighting condition. Closeups reveal individual hairs, facial pores, practical makeup effects, wounds, gore,  and other textures in costumes that look amazing. Darker sequences also showcase these fine details as well, especially on the alien skin which is heavy CGI, but it never looks washed out or pixelated. Wider shots are never soft either. There are no issues with banding, aliasing, or heavy noise.

Audio Review

Ranking:

This release comes with a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix and it sounds exquisite. The sound effects are boisterous and loud on all fronts. The explosions, gun blasts, vehicle engines roaring, and alien sounds are all well-balanced and dynamic. Those atmospheric sounds of people talking and yelling in the police station or in the barn sound fantastic through the surround speakers.

The low end of bass brings forth a wide range of low-end rumbles that never cross into rocky territory. The song cues and musical score always add to the thrills and entertainment value of the show that keeps in check with its great tone. The dialogue is always clean, clear, and easy to follow. There are no audio problems to speak of.

Special Features

Ranking:

There is about an hour's worth of bonus materials here, all of which are super fun, and hilarious, and offer up some info on the making of the show. All are worth the time.

Disc One

  • Making The World Safe For Violence: Peacemaker's Team (HD, 12 Mins.) - Some excellent and funny information about each character.
  • Bad Daddy Issues: Peacemaker's Search For Inner Peace (HD. 6 Mins.) - Discusses the emotional tone of the show, which centers on the family.
  • Peacemaker: Under The Helmet (HD, 3 Mins.) - The visual effects and CGI are talked about and Eagly is focused on.
  • Project Butterfly Team Member Characters (HD, 8 Mins.) - There are seven separate segments that introduce each character and give the traits of each.
  • On Set With Steve Agee (HD, 3 Mins.) - Agee comically offers up some behind-the-scenes footage.
  • Dramatic Comic Book Reading (HD, 3 Mins.) - Chukwudi Iwuji passionately reads some comic books from the DCU.

Disc Two

  • Gag Reel (HD, 10 Mins.) - A wonderfully funny montage of missed cues, flubbed lines, laughter, dancing, and more.
  • Unlocking the Quantum Unfolding Storage Area (HD, 2 Mins.) - John Cena gives a tour of the set.
  • Peacemaker and Vigilante BFFs (HD, 2 Mins.) - A fun, short look at the relationship between these friends.
  • So What Do You Really Think Of Peacemaker (HD, 3 Mins.) - People roasting Peacemaker.
  • Danielle Brooks Explains the DC Universe (HD, 2 Mins.) - Danielle briefly talks highly about a few comic book titles.
  • Keep The Tweets (HD, 2 Mins.) - John Cena tweets.
  • Dance For Peace (HD, 2 Mins.) - An all-too-short behind the scenes of the famous dance sequence that intros the show.
  • How To Properly Give A Fuck (HD, 1 Min.) - Cursing is a funny thing and the cast tells why the F-Bomb is great.

Final Thoughts

Peacemaker The Complete First Season is a triumph of a show for HBO and the DCEU. The characters are all pitch-perfect and the performances are all top-notch and have emotional heft. John Cena is simply the best. The 1080p HD transfer and the DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix are both terrific. The extras are all worth watching and are just as informative as they are funny. Highly Recommended!