John Cena’s Peacemaker Is A Hit On Rotten Tomatoes

We’re one week away from the premiere of Peacemaker on HBO Max, a TV spin-off from last year’s The Suicide Squad which follows John Cena’s character in an original story from writer/director James Gunn. The first reviews for the project have started to make their way online and the new show is already proving to be a major hit with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Though the show doesn’t yet have enough reviews to be given a “Certified Fresh” distinction, it sure seems like it’s on its way there as it currently sits at a 91% rating.

As of this writing there are eleven total reviews for Peacemaker with ten of them positive/Fresh and only one negative/rotten review. ComicBook.com’s own Jenna Anderson is among those positive reviews though, awarding the series a 4 out of 5 rating. In part she wrote: “there are a small number of growing pains, but they are vastly outweighed by the creative and entertaining things that the series does right. Like the countless DC Comics solo series of the 1980s, Peacemaker proves an essential point about the DCEU — that when you showcase the weirdest possible fringes of a fictional universe, it helps the entire universe feel much bigger and more complete.”

In contrast, the sole negative review on Rotten Tomatoes right now isn’t an outright pan and more mixed-negative. Courtesy of The Playlist, the reveiw’s excerpt on the review aggregator reads: “In contrast with the amusing ‘Suicide Squad,’ in James Gunn’s ‘Peacemaker’ limited series, the obnoxious, vainglorious anti-hero is the entire song, and it’s a grating note that wears out its welcome incredibly fast.”

Picking up from the ending of The Suicide Squad and focusing on John Cena’s metal-helmet wearing hero, Peacemaker will James Gunn’s first foray into television. Cena is joined in the series by fellow The Suicide Squad cast members Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee plus newcomers Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick as Aggie Smith, and Freddie Stroma as DC’s Vigilante.

Other cast members in Peacemaker include Christopher Heyerdahl as Captain Locke, Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Turn, Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang as Sophie Song, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow as Keeya, and Rizwan Manji as Jamil.

The first three episodes of the show will premiere on January 13 on HBO Max, with the remaining five episodes arriving weekly after that.