A new series from James Gunn hits Max tomorrow, featuring characters comic book fans will be familiar with.
Following a secret team of incarcerated “monsters” recruited for missions dubbed too dangerous for humans, season one of Creature Commandos features an impressive voice cast, with Steve Agee as Economos, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana, Anya Chalotra as Circe, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Sean Gunn as GI Robot & Weasel, David Harbour as Frankenstein, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, Indira Varma as The Bride, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.
Max
Critics have got their hands on the first episodes, and reviews are starting to roll in for the series, which has landed a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes from 21 reviews so far.
Total Film’s Lauren Milici praises Creature Commandos for “[standing] on its own” among Gunn’s previous work in the DC Universe and says, “Yes, it’s the same formula that we’ve come to expect from Gunn, but there’s just something different here.”
“Creature Commandos is a colorful and action-packed introduction to the new DCU franchise,” says Ernesto Valenzuela at Discussing Film, “but it also already feels like creator James Gunn is repeating old lazy habits.”
There’s only one “Rotten” review in the mix so far, from Ryan Britt at Inverse, who critiques the show for “[doubling] down on the old grimdark DCEU vibe rather than forging a new path.”
Britt says, “If DC was going to drop the nihilistic and brutal aspects of DC’s previously shared continuity, that’s not happening here.”
CineXpress’s Fico Cangiano was excited by what Creature Commandos had to offer, calling the show “funny, violent & gory, while still being serious, with emotions at its core.”
Creature Commandos debuts on Max on December 5, with new episodes released weekly through January 16.
