Creature Commandos

It is DC animation so you always have no expectations from them but James Gunn is a genius who wrote this shoe well. I doubted that he could guide this sinking ship to the shore but I was wrong. This is his first work for DC and I am impressed with the way he told stories of all characters. It is full of heart and empathy. He understood the job and executed it very well on the screen. I hope he can build a studio that makes better DC animations and not what we are watching from 80s cartoon shows. I am glued to this series and hope to see it end with a banger. This gives me a lot of hope for the DC's future and for Superman especially. If you know how to write a story well you can create a bunch of misfits into a great show and Creatures Commandos is a good example of it. Especially when we're fed loads of crap by Hollywood seeing such rare gems is what makes us hopeful for a better future.

I really liked this at the start. Funny, violent and exciting, with an entertaining collection of misfits.

But as it went forward, I began to have my doubts. The first issue is the basic structure, with each episode alternating between the story arc and the individual tragic backstories of the creatures. There was a sameness to it. It's not that the structure is inherently bad (Lost did a great job with it), it's just that these stories were both predictable and depressing. It's like Suicide Squad except half of them aren't even criminals, just victims stuck in a nightmare.

The series keeps getting darker, both in its horrific body count of innocent bystanders and well-meaning soldiers and in its stories, with the final one being just tragedy upon tragedy.

While Creature Commandos seemed like a lot of fun in the beginning, by the end most of the fun had been drowned in darkness.

I'm so bummed out after watching the final episode of season 1 that I'm hesitant to recommend this, but I guess I did enjoy it overall. Still, it's a disappointment from the generally on-point James Gunn.

James Gunn has done it again, his style is still unmatched even after all this years and copycats along the way. The way he write characters has only improve in every new project he makes, he manages to balance goofy with tragic for every main character and villan, and this is the best example yet (with that crazy and heartbreaking final plot twist), especially Dr Phosporus and The Bride, they were totally the best characters in the entire show, not only as protagonist, but as a way to expand the DCU. One negative I have with the show is that the actual plot felt that it wasn't going anywhere until the final episode, and that Nina and Frankenstein didn't advance much as characters (aside from their flashbacks). Hopefully now that the team is already stablished, they will focus more on develop them more in future seasons.

"Creature Commandos" (2024, 7.7/10) opens a new chapter in the DC cinematic universe under James Gunn's direction, introducing viewers to an animated series where humor and action blend with a dark yet vibrant world of superheroes and monsters. The plot follows a team of unusual creatures assembled by Amanda Waller to carry out secret missions, placing them in dangerous situations and moral dilemmas.

One of the series' main strengths lies in its visuals. The animation, created by the French studio Bobbypills, is impressive in quality: dynamic action scenes, expressive character design, and stylish visualization make each episode a spectacle. The soundtrack, featuring energetic tracks like those from Gogol Bordello, perfectly complements the atmosphere, adding drive and emotional tension.

The voice cast and dialogues emphasize James Gunn's signature style, familiar from his work on Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. While the story remains engaging despite some overloaded subplots, it occasionally feels shallow in developing individual characters. This is particularly evident when the focus shifts to secondary storylines that don't directly impact the main conflict.

Verdict: Creature Commandos is a stylish and entertaining start for the renewed DC universe, combining high-quality animation, humor, and thrilling action. Despite a few shortcomings, the series is a worthy representative of its genre and is sure to appeal to both comic book fans and enthusiasts of dynamic and vivid animated projects.

Creature Commandos doesn't break any new grounds, and it doesn't intend to. This is classic James Gunn as we've come to expect with a few twists and changes, if you like his style of storytelling, you're gonna get a lot out of this show. If you don't, you may find it a bit lackluster and underwhelming. Some jokes get used too much and much of this story is spent in flashbacks which while are interesting and serve to flesh out these characters in a really great way just kind of show that not much is really happening a lot of the time for the characters in the present. The plot is a little dull in some episodes, and is carried heavily by comedy, which might not land for everyone.

The main strengths of this show are in comedy carried by the strong cast of voices and the incredibly kinetic and violent action sequences which are animated spectacularly. By the time two certain characters meet up, this show becomes absolutely hilarious and the plot is heavily carried by their dynamic. Thanks to the amazing voice actors, I was never quite bored by the plot because the characters were so much fun to see.

Although this show suffered from not having enough time to properly flesh out its plot, it's still a damn fun watch that I'd reccomend to anyone looking for a bite sized and fun story to sink your teeth into while you wait for DC to release other stuff.