Peacemaker (Season 1)

"You don't wanna believe in miracles, that's on you."

I watch a lot of superhero TV series and while I can't say this is the strangest one I've seen, it comes close to having the stupidest lines ever. That's not necessarily a bad thing because this action comedy is actually all forms of great. The story follows the titular Peacemaker (well played by John Cena) as he is put in another black ops squad following the events of "The Suicide Squad" to save the day, and he makes for an excellent protagonist wanting to change his ways.

So many likeable characters!

Every episode gets better and better as there is no filler, and while the comedy is hit or miss depending on the viewer (mostly good for me) the plot, acting, and action pieces are all very good. Right from the opening credit dance number you know what you are in for, and given my wife wants us to learn it speaks volumes of how much we enjoy the show. Highly recommended, with the small caveat that you probably should watch The Suicide Squad first (which is not a chore at all as it's a good movie). Here's hoping future seasons are just as good as the first!

F9 (Fast and Furious 9) and The Suicide Squad

A contrast of what to do with large casts.

F9 (Fast & Furious 9)

Plot armor front and center.

Dominic Torreto's (Vin Diesel) quiet life is interrupted when his crew come to him for help on an urgent mission which involves a lot of vehicles, explosions, and a few decent fight scenes. Plot wise though... the writers must have looked at the previous movies and said "how can we make this even more ludicrous?" They succeeded.

Gangsta's in space yo

Almost nothing makes sense in this film so if you watch it, it is purely for the spectacle of the action scenes and to see them use the "oh this character isn't actually dead" again trope which they've already previously done. Much like bloat of superhero shows these days if the writers are braver in pruning characters (especially favorites) I think it would make for a stronger series. As it stands I don't think I'd give it a second viewing and score this two space cars of five.

The Suicide Squad

A high death count makes for a great movie.

They're a fun bunch!

Much better than the previous Suicide Squad, this movie again throws criminals with special abilities into an important yet dangerous mission in a foreign country. It is funny, gory, violent and very entertaining. The main crew are quite likeable this time around, and surprisingly it is Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who seems to be the odd-girl out with an unnecessary side plot but she is fantastic as usual so I'll let that slide. Not much else to say other than I highly recommend it and would definitely watch it again! Four starfish out of five!

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Somehow, less Batman is more awesome? What!?

A major improvement from the last game, this one sees you control the entire Justice League as they do their hero thing. It also fixes the problems of having the Batman theme on loop (he's not around as much) and being able to carry only one suit at a time. In this game, if you have a suit unlocked it and its abilities are always available to you.

This does make the game slightly harder as you have more options for puzzle solving which don't always make sense: such as Batman's ice gun being able to put out fires EXCEPT these fires which look exactly the same which can only be crossed by someone holding a shield. Uh, sure.

Suicide Squad go!

The game also comes with nice extra levels (the Arrow one is great, thanks Stephen Amell!) and the side missions are more enticing to participate in. Definitely a step up from the last outing, I give it 3 shrunken cities out of 5.

Insight: Not sure where to go? Follow the trail of ghost lego!

Suicide Squad

Too many characters, not enough development.

When the government decides to leverage "gifted" criminals into working as a team against an equally overpowered foe, one has to ask what could go wrong?. "Plenty," is the correct answer. The plot features a fair bit of action with good effects that go eclectic at times but not much else as it is mired in clumsy story telling.

Part of the problem is having too many characters who don't actually need to be there (similar to my Thor: Ragnarok review). Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and Katana could easily be dropped. Acting wise everyone (except the overly "dancey" main bad guy) is ok, with Margot Robbie (Harley) being fantastic. I had reservations with Will Smith being Deadshot but he pulls it off well enough when he isn't wearing a pimp hat.

Could have halfed the team and made a better story.

I also liked Jared Leto's Joker, but again his use in most of the non-flashback segments feels forced. I should mention the antagonists of the film make little sense too, but with everything else going sideways they just get a shrug. I give this 2.5 floating rings of trash out of 5, and can't really recommend it to anyone.