TAGGED AS: DC Universe, Max, streaming, TV
James Gunn continues to raise the standards of the DC Universe on screens big and small with Creature Commandos, an animated TV series earning raves in its first reviews. Although somewhat tied to the Suicide Squad movies and spinoff show, it marks the first official title in the rebooted mega-franchise and proves it’s headed in a good direction. As you can expect, this show features an eclectic bunch of characters, all of them tragically lovable. However, like Gunn’s other DC work so far, it’s not as family-friendly as his Marvel movies, for better or worse.
Here’s what critics are saying about Creature Commandos:
Creature Commandos is a riotous good time… The seven-episode series is truly a blast to watch and rewatch.
— Cassondra Feltus, Black Girl Nerds
One of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had watching a superhero anything.
— Lauren Milici, Total Film
Creature Commandos is an exciting, fun, heartfelt, hilarious animated series and a wonderful start to a new DC.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
It’s exactly what you need to launch a massive franchise like the DCU.
— Charlie Ridgely, ComicBook.com
Creature Commandos isn’t exactly fresh, but at least it’s fun.
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
Creature Commandos does enough right to warrant a viewing, especially for fans of the lesser-known DC characters who now get a chance to shine.
— Ernesto Valenzuela, Discussing Film
(Photo by Max)
Those who love Gunn’s past work for both Marvel and DC will feel right at home with Creature Commandos.
— Nate Richard, Collider
What’s obvious from the start is how much of a James Gunn project this is.
— Tyler Robertson, IGN Movies
Creature Commandos is the most James Gunn cartoon to have ever James Gunn-ed. This is mostly a good thing.
— Reuben Baron, Looper.com
Creature Commandos is very clearly a James Gunn brainchild, and I am so here for it.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
There’s no mistaking it for anything but a byproduct of Gunn’s horror/junk/sleaze-addled mind… Even when he’s running in circles, the guy still knows how to deliver cheap thrills.
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
While it’s easy to compare and contrast with Gunn’s other works, Creature Commandos stands on its own… There’s just something different here.
— Lauren Milici, Total Film
While Commandos’ gnarly violence will surely be compared to Invincible, its action sequences strike a more nimble balance between mayhem and whimsy than that Prime Video series, inventively and viscerally deploying a varied array of superpowers attuned to the moods of the folks who wield them.
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
I’ve spent most of my adult life chasing the high of [Batman: The Animated Series], wondering when something just as dark and daring would make its way onto my television screen – and Creature Commandos is close enough.
— Lauren Milici, Total Film
Similar to Harley Quinn or Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, Creature Commandos has a darkly comedic tone with plenty of exploding body parts, creative kills, hilarious jokes, and touching moments.
— Cassondra Feltus, Black Girl Nerds
(Photo by Max)
Some very good action set pieces with some good fight pacing and action pacing overall.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
The fight scenes are choreographed and animated well.
— Reuben Baron, Looper.com
The action is undoubtedly the highlight of the series.
— Ernesto Valenzuela, Discussing Film
Creature Commandos is arguably at its best delivering bloody, maniacal fight scenes.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com
The violence is extra bloody… Nothing is off-limits, which is great news.
— Charlie Ridgely, ComicBook.com
Creature Commandos is incredibly violent, but it is a type of amusement park violence that cannot be taken too seriously.
— M.N. Miller, Film Focus Online
It’s packed with astonishing violence… but even with all these messy body parts flying around, Gunn’s monster mash achieves the level of gravitas it so often seeks.
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
It is a bit gory with limbs being cut off and the even worse happening, so if that’s not your bag, sit out the show.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
It is most definitely not for children… The animation allows them to truly go above and beyond when it comes to the blood and gore of it all.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
(Photo by Max)
The writing delivers complex storytelling with humor and depth despite the time restraints.
— Ben Gibbons, Screen Rant
The story has some exciting twists and turns as the Commandos get taken on a bit of a ride… [It] feels different enough yet fresh and inviting.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
[Gunn] has always had a knack for making you laugh and cry in equal measure, while never sacrificing the story to do so. He makes it clear in this show that, with his vision for the DCU, story will always come first.
— Charlie Ridgely, ComicBook.com
It shouldn’t be too surprising that Creature Commandos plays to all of Gunn’s greatest strengths as a storyteller… [but] Gunn dives so deep into the personal lives and insecurities of the titular team that it sometimes comes at the cost of the series’ story.
— Nate Richard, Collider
Each character is given enough time on screen so that viewers can feel connected to them and learn about their backstories…. At the center of it all is a really touching story.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
You’ll fall in love with every single member of this team, and perhaps almost every character on the show.
— Charlie Ridgely, ComicBook.com
Gunn is too canny a storyteller, too fascinated by the make and psychology of these esoteric freaks and geeks to let their stories be generic. So, Gunn takes detours from the series’ pandemonium to explore the Commandos’ origins, painting a vivid picture of who these oddballs are and why they’re so willing to march to Waller’s drum.
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
The character moments also benefit from the expressive nature of how the leads are brought to life, something that’s vital when a fair bit of this series is devoted to exploring their respective, and often tragic, backstories.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com
There is so much life in these animated characters that I started crying around episode 3 and didn’t stop until the end credits rolled on episode 7.
— Lauren Milici, Total Film
By the end of these seven episodes, I was fully endeared to the entire squad – making the emotions of the finale hit even harder.
— Tyler Robertson, IGN Movies
(Photo by Max)
The animation from Paris studio Bobbypills is a happy marriage of Peter Chung and Invincible, a frenzied gallery of expertly storyboarded choreography and engaging character business that only dips in quality once the dust settles.
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
Visually, Creature Commandos is a match for the high if not the exceptional quality we’ve come to expect from Warner Bros. Animation’s DC cartoons.
— Reuben Baron, Looper.com
Creature Commandos’ animation style perfectly suits the show’s tone. It’s not as cartoonish as Harley Quinn, but it also doesn’t feel as self-serious as many of the direct-to-video DC animated movies.
— Nate Richard, Collider
Even though it looks rigid in some of the show’s more quiet moments, the animation does an incredible job of telling the twisted and enticing story of Creature Commandos.
— Ernesto Valenzuela, Discussing Film
Creature Commandos also features the carefully curated soundtrack you’d come to expect from a Gunn project… As weird and wacky as its cast, and brings a playful, immature-on-purpose attitude to the whole enterprise.
— Tyler Robertson, IGN Movies
Expect several needle drops from bands like Gogol Bordello and The Dresden Dolls. Anyone unfamiliar with the sound of gypsy punk might find the songs a bit odd at first but will quickly realize how fitting the energy is to the overall Eastern European aesthetic of the series.
— Cassondra Feltus, Black Girl Nerds
The music is another highlight; not only does Gunn find some unexpected, catchy tracks to accompany the action, but Kevin Kiner and Clint Mansell’s score is perfectly suited to this zany team-up.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com
(Photo by Max)
The vocal work throughout Creature Commandos is impeccable, and it makes me giddy thinking about the whole “same actors in animation and live-action” rule that this new DCU has already said it’s going to live by.
— Charlie Ridgely, ComicBook.com
The voice actors give a lot of personality to each character, making them distinct.
— Ben Gibbons, Screen Rant
Frank Grillo is the standout as Rick Flag Sr… The actor looks set to be a huge part of the DCU in the future, and Gunn has done well to cast the former MCU actor.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com
The clear standout of Creature Commandos is Indira Varma as The Bride, who delivers a fun and jaded take on the iconic horror monster.
— Ernesto Valenzuela, Discussing Film
Varma was the perfect choice to voice The Bride, bringing a mountain of snark, wit, and a shocking amount of maturity to the role.
— Nate Richard, Collider
The one thing about Creature Commandos that doesn’t always work is its sense of sexuality. It’s an extremely horny show… something we’re trying to move past in the entertainment industry in 2024.
— Tyler Robertson, IGN Movies
There are moments in Creature Commandos when Gunn steers all this bedlam and depravity too far afield, and his sweetly calibrated emotional beats clash with the carnage.
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
The only major downside is that the show is doing almost nothing new, and even its attempts at surprising twists you can mostly see coming a mile away because we’ve seen this schtick before.
— Reuben Baron, Looper.com
One of my few gripes with the series: there are only seven episodes.
— Lauren Milici, Total Film
(Photo by Max)
A thrilling taste of what’s to come from DC Studios moving forward… If Creature Commandos is a sign of things to come, we’re all in on the DCU.
— Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com
If this is the kind of quality we can expect from the new DCU, the future looks bright.
— Tyler Robertson, IGN Movies
It more than proves that the new DCU is in good hands. I’m ready for more.
— Lauren Milici, Total Film
The series can feel overstuffed with information (it lays more track for the DCU than you might think).
— Jarrod Jones, AV Club
95%
Creature Commandos: Season 1
(2024)
premieres on Max on December 5, 2024.
