James Gunn has become a name synonymous with the superhero genre, and while he's done other projects outside of the comic book movies - both before and since his big break with the first Guardians of the Galaxy flick - you can't deny that superheroes are his bread and butter. He now turns his attention to overseeing DC Studios' new DC Universe, along with Peter Safran, which will look to start a brand new chapter in the storied history of DC Comics characters on the big screen.
With the official start of his DC Universe coming out in July of this year with his Superman film (which Gunn himself directed) and the second season of Peacemaker also arriving at some point this year, let's take a look back at all of the DC projects Gunn has worked on thus far, and see if we can find a way of ranking them from worst to best.
Let's kick this list off with the beginning of his DC journey.
3. The Suicide Squad
This might shock some people, but I found James Gunn's first foray into the DC Universe to be lackluster. While The Suicide Squad is leagues and bounds better than David Ayer's Suicide Squad film from 2016, I still find Gunn's film to be one of his weaker projects.
The main problem with this film is that it felt too similar to Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy movies. While the violence is kicked up many notches, The Suicide Squad had story beats and themes just feel too reminiscent of the Guardians flicks, and they simply weren't executed nearly as well as those movies were. There were some good character moments in there, like King Shark in the van with the others looking out a window at the people of Corto Maltese longing to be normal, which silently - but effectively - conveys what the character is thinking without having to say anything. However, in that same scene, the other characters talk about their darkest fears and how they manifested as well as revealing their dark pasts/origins.
This whole segment felt somewhat forced, because it felt like the obligatory scene in any movie where the heroes open up to each other and become closer as a result. Particularly, when Bloodsport and Ratcatcher talk about their pasts, it came out of left field to me as to why they would reveal these things about themselves to the other members of the squad, who they didn't know all that well at this point in time. I didn't feel all that connected to most of the characters, and this film generally feels like Gunn was just trying to do a more violent Guardians movie without the more nuanced characters.
Again, not a bad film by any means, just one I wouldn't put on again anytime in the near future
2. Creature Commandos
The beginning of Creature Commandos was incredibly exciting mainly because it was set to be the start of James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe, but I was of course curious about the project without the ties to an extended universe.
The one thing about this show that's both a benefit and a detractor was the characters. Throughout the show, basically all of the characters didn't care about what happened to each other, and that remained a recurring theme until the end of its first season. The exception being The Bride and NIna, with the latter dying in the finale and the former distraught and angry over it, and Flag Sr. and Frankenstein, but that's the extent of it. This works in the show's favor because it makes the overall premise that much more realistic.
In other words, if known criminals and monsters were put into a team to do some good, realistically they wouldn't get along at all in the real world, but for the sake of the show they work well together, even if they don't really care about the person next to them. I can buy this more than the characters in The Suicide Squad, but the problem with this is that the audience doesn't really care about the characters either as a result. Don't get me wrong, each episode delving into the pasts of each character did make me feel something for them (especially The Bride's and Weasel's episodes), but I didn't care about them as a group trying to solve problems. It's a double-edged sword, and it was bound to cut one way or the other.
Everything else about Creature Commandos, from the animation to the fight scenes and the characters' origins, were all exceuted exceptionally well.
1. Peacemaker season 1
After The Suicide Squad failed to fully win me over, I wasn't all that excited that one of the character's from that movie was getting their own spinoff series. I wasn't going to watch it, even after the accolades were coming hot and heavy after its premiere, but my sister wanted to watch it, so I decided to give it a shot. Luckily, I found that the show deserved all the accolades it was getting and then some.
Peacemaker is James Gunn at his best, with great comedy, likable characters, an intriguing story, and of course a killer soundtrack! What Creature Commandos and The Suicide Squad failed to do for me in terms of characters, Peacemaker delivered in spades. While I did like John Cena's Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad, the Max TV series gave so much more depth to his character in terms of his strained relationship with his father and his traumatic past, which ensured viewers might feel bad for the guy despite all the stuff he did in The Suicide Squad.
The rest of the characters were just as interesting and enjoyable, from Harcourt to Vigilante, and they were all capable of providing us with memorable moments, as well as fleshed-out backstories that allowed for us to really care about them.
And with the next season coming out sometime in August of this year, fans like myself and my sister will be reunited with Team Peacemaker once again! Thanks sis for getting me into the show.