James Gunn delivered one of the best DC works in recent years with the first season of Max’s “Peacemaker,” a TV series that was considerably better than the film that spawned it (Gunn’s own “The Suicide Squad”).
Could lightning strike twice with the second season? Reviews are now in for the new run, and the verdict seems to be an improved season overall, with some saying it’s John Cena’s best work to date.
On Rotten Tomatoes and with 30 reviews counted, the new season sits at a perfect 100% – up from the 93% score that the first season landed. On Metacritic, with 34 reviews counted, the second season stands at 78/100 – a big improvement on the 70/100 for the first.
Here’s a sampling of review quotes:
“Peacemaker season two is the best work of John Cena’s career. He’s always been great in the role of Christopher Smith, but he’s never been asked to do this much, not even in season one” – Michael Walsh, Nerdist
“It would have been easy for Gunn to get caught up in the world-building of a new season of live action storytelling in his fresh DC universe to start spinning more ideas out, but this is still the Peacemaker fans fell in love with back in 2022.” – Trent Moore, Paste Magazine
“There’s nothing out there quite like Peacemaker, and season two just shows that there’s so much more to explore with this fantastic cast of characters and simply superb, fascinating storylines.” – Abe Friedtanzer, Awards Buzz
“The testament of a good show is whether or not you care about the characters more than the bigger picture. With Peacemaker season 2, we’re lucky in the sense that both of those aspects are thrilling this time around” – Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
“The gags and gore remain plentiful, but they’re not the dominant takeaways this time. Gunn even finds emotional resonance in the multiverse concept — something Marvel, for all its efforts in that dimension, has so far failed to locate.” – Bob Strauss, The Wrap
“It all works well enough to prove that Gunn is capable of operating within somewhat different tones, even within the same universe. And no matter what the angle, he’s prioritizing comic book fun — a true relief.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
“The fight scenes are still inventive while everyone works with a far more modest budget than Gunn gets in his movies. And the cast still has good chemistry. But there’s definitely a tone shift.” – Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
“Strong performances and the occasional spark of creative energy aren’t enough to make the second season of Peacemaker feel more or less like an unfortunate exercise of universe expansion with characters that could be used better in other adventures.” – Ryan McQuade, AwardsWatch
The second season premieres on HBO Max on August 21st.
