Peacemaker, Now TV

John Cena is known to many as one of the biggest names in the weird and wonderful world of professional wrestling. But, in case you didn't know, he's actually a pretty great actor too and was arguably the best thing about James Gunn's Suicide Squad reboot of last year.

It's not surprising then to see Cena handed his own gig in the form of HBO Max's Peacemaker, which kicks off directly after the events of the aforementioned film. It sees the titular anti-hero enrolled in yet another covert government operation involving a ragtag group of misfits (sound familiar) who have been tasked with thwarting an alien invasion.

That invasion is spearheaded by the parasitic Butterflies, who burrow into their hostage's skulls and control them like toy soldiers. If it all sounds a bit Invasion of the Body Snatchers-esque, it's because it is. Gunn, after all, has always been a director who wears his influences proudly on his sleeve.

But Peacemaker is surprisingly a show of hidden depths, one which explores the moral compromise its protagonist is made to endure not only by his paymasters but also his father. The latter is especially odious and played with typical menace by Robert Patrick (of Terminator 2 fame), with the dynamics between the two giving the show a powerful overarching theme that only becomes apparent as its events unfurl.

Still, this show is mostly about the sort of zingers that fans of Gunn have come to expect from his work. It is chaotic, violent and a whole lot of fun. And that's without mentioning its now iconic opening credits skit, which really has to be seen to be believed.