Weekend Watch: Peacemaker, The Tragedy Of Macbeth
A bumbling antihero returns and Shakespeare is adapted again – this time by a Coen brother...
Image Credit: Warner Media
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, James Gunn brings John Cena’s dumbbell super-antihero to small screens Joel Coen tackles the Bard with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
The box office figures might not suggest it, but James Gunn made (in my opinion, at least) a successful leap from Marvel to DC for last year’s The Suicide Squad, which offered a new outing for the villains-forced-into-a-heroic-mission team and introduced those who don’t read comics to Peacemaker. Also known as Christopher Smith, he’s a gung-ho patriot with a passion for peace who is unafraid to kill anyone in the service of his objective. Yes, he’s a braggy, thoughtless idiot and very funny for it.
Here, Gunn fully takes the opportunity to explore and deepen the main character without ever diluting what made him work in the movie. In fact, the extra layers, such as daddy issues and best pal Eagly (more on him in a moment) add a lot to his appeal. We already knew that Peacemaker was a rude, stubborn, often dumb vigilante but now we know more about why.
Surrounding him are a couple of holdovers from the movie (Steve Agee’s tech nerd John Economos and Jennifer Holland as steely operative Emily Harcourt) plus Danielle Brooks’ Leota Adebayo providing backup and much needed moral commentary, with Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn, their boss in a black-ops outfit assigned to take out a specific threat. I won’t discuss what that is, but if you know Gunn’s past work, you might be able to guess the origin. There’s also Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), an old friend of Peacemaker with his own deadly (but often injudicious) attitude to heroism.
The writer/director (Gunn wrote all eight initial episodes and directed several, with Brad Anderson, Jody Hill, and Rosemary Rodriguez handling one apiece) has a huge ally in Cena, who is on winning form here. Comically capable and game for almost anything, he throws himself into all manner of situations in the name of crazed entertainment. Likewise, the other cast members are all given rounded characters (Brooks in particular, who runs with it). Yet for all the human quality on display, the true scene-stealer is a CGI bald eagle. Eagly is the breakout star of this series, a sheer delight every time he turns up to squawk, snap or strafe an enemy.
As a bonus, while having seen the film is a plus (there’s a recap at the start), you neither need to be totally familiar with it nor DC comics to enjoy this. Though there are, of course, plenty of easter eggs for fans and an amusing take on end credits stings that expand upon a moment in each episode. Oh, and because it’s Gunn, there is a hilarious opening sequence musical number that will keep you watching instead of skipping the main credits.
It may not be able to replicate the scale of the film (nor does it need to), but Peacemaker is even funnier than The Suicide Squad, and in some ways more satisfying. James Gunn is a very busy man, but I’d be happy to see him return to this world whenever he feels like it. And if Warners wants to put out an Eagly plush, I’m ready to buy one.
The first three episodes of Peacemaker are on HBO now in the States. Future episodes will drop Thursdays. I’ve seen seven of the eight from Season 1. There is no official word yet on when or where it will arrive in the UK.
Image Credit: Apple TV+
Who could have predicted that Joel Coen – one-half of the Coen brothers, the writing/directing duo behind films such as Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy and Inside Llewyn Davis – would want to turn around and make a Shakespeare adaptation on his own? Well, apparently, his wife, Oscar-winner Frances McDormand would, having encouraged him to mount a stage presentation. He, instead, decided to make a movie of the story and has found a stylish, moody way into it.
If you don’t know the story of Macbeth, or fell asleep in school when told to study it, it follows an ambitious Scottish general who, upon being told by three witches that he will one day become King, decides to move that schedule up by murdering the current incumbent of the throne and anyone else who gets in his way, kicking off a civil war when those around him seek to remove Macbeth from power. Of course, this being Shakespeare, it’s about a lot more than that, but that’s up to personal interpretation.
Coen here has McDormand (who is naturally excellent) and a powerful, thoughtful Denzel Washington in the lead roles, supported by a fine clutch of actors including Corey Hawkins, Bertie Carvel, Brendan Gleeson and Harry Melling, who get their tongues around the tough Bard-speak with ease, letting the emotion flow from both the words and their body language.
Worth singling out here? Kathryn Hunter, who plays all three witches and one other key character and contorts herself into all manner of shapes as the prophetic crones. It’s a bold piece of acting and hasn’t been recognised nearly enough in awards talk.
It’s always a challenge for a new adaptation of a Shakespeare play to justify its existence in the face of so many staged and filmed versions, but Coen, aided by production designer Stefan Dechant and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel opts for stark, monochrome footage and stripped-down settings that let the play and its cast do the work. It’s still a beautiful film to look at, even if there are small moments that come across more like a student production than a professional film crew who have clearly thought through their decisions.
You may find yourself tripping over some of the terms, but if you want to see Shakespeare brought to life with magic and mayhem on screen, this latest Macbeth has enough of both to make it worthwhile.
The Tragedy Of Macbeth is on Apple TV+ now.