Citadel Review: Stylish action sequences and exceptional cinematography are major highlights of first two episodes
Citadel Rating: 3.5 Stars
Just watched Citadel first 2 episodes in Hindi on Prime Video. Let’s analyze the cast, release date, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this web series.
Cast: Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Stanley Tucci
Director: David Weil
Release Date: 1st and 2nd Episode on 28th April 2023 (Prime Video)
Duration: 6 Episodes/ 40 Minutes
Story: The show revolves around the stories of Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and Mason Kane (Richard Madden) who are top agents with Citadel (An organization formed by a group of spies who are loyal to no men and nations and is dedicated to providing safety and security to everyone).
They are on a mission on a train in the Italian Alps wherein they have to steal uranium from a passenger. In no time, they realize that it is a setup and reports of the passenger carrying uranium were planted to lure the Citadel spies. Mason and Nadia also learn that an organization, Manticore who is responsible for it and they plan to eliminate all Citadel spies across the world. They get brutally attacked and got injured in an explosion.
8 years later, Mason has lost his memories but often gets flashes of Nadia but is unable to remember any further. He is married to Abby (Ashleigh Cummings) and has a daughter Hendrix (Caoilinn Springall). Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci) is an ex-Citadel member and former colleague of Mason, learns of the latter’s presence through the database. He takes him and his family to a safehouse in Wyoming as Manticore is quite active now and they might attempt to assassinate Mason.
On the other hand, the CIA had safely stored a briefcase containing details of Citadel members in Miami that Manticore has stolen. That bag is locked with a code, they are unable to open it hence, they take the bag to New York. Bernard asks Mason to join him in stealing this briefcase, but he refuses. He helps him understand his sharp reflexes and also tells him that if the briefcase is opened, it’ll lead to destruction in the world.
They stole the bag from New York and opens the briefcase to find out that Nadia is also alive and that she’s in Valencia, Spain. The Manticore members attack Mason and Bernard. Bernard gets grievously injured while Mason runs away. He immediately takes a flight to Valencia. What happens next forms the rest of the series.
NOTE: There are total 6 episodes in the 1st season and new episodes will premiere on each Fridays.
Positives
1. Excellent Performances
2. Climax
3. Direction
4. Cinematography
Negatives
1. Predictable Story
2. Screenplay
3. Unanswered queries
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer planned to watch this series on premiere day because loved the trailer and also there will be Indian adaption of this spy thriller series.
A crime syndicate, Manticore, destroys an independent global spy agency that’s the ‘last line defense for the good in the world’, Citadel, and ambushes its top agents, Nadia Sinh and Mason Kane, on a set-up mission. As the two escapes within an inch of their lives, their memories are erased to safeguard their secrets. Eight years later, a Citadel associate enlists their help to bring Manticore down. Will they succeed despite amnesia?
The episodes take one through the US, Italy, and Spain and make for an engaging mix of the spies retracing their past and fighting the evil forces. The massive scale and high-quality production values make things better. The show’s fast pace ensures every minute is accounted for. The relentless twists make sure the viewer stays hooked. Its plot isn’t Citadel’s biggest strength. Most often than not, you know what is going to happen next. Predictability is a bane for a show which is billed as a spy thriller and that’s exactly why Citadel suffers. There may be many twists and turns in the narrative, but they don’t push you towards the edge of your seat or make you sit up. What make up for the lack of a thrilling and nail-biting screenplay are the action sequences and the cinematography, which is exceptional. The frenetic camera movement to continuous shifts between blurred and in-focus shots render a chic polish to the series.
On the flipside, as it happens in such setups, there are a lot of cinematic liberties. The way Mason is coolly able to steal the briefcase, that too from a high-security environment, is a bit hard to digest. Dahila’s motives and actions are also not that clear. While just 6 episodes is still a digestible fact, each episode being only of 30 minutes acts like a bothering point. It is technically a 3-hour movie in that case. Endgame was longer than the show maybe. Also, that very thing makes you feel like the show is leaving too much for the future episodes because it doesn’t feel enough. Besides, someone has to explain me how Mason got that family and whose kids are those. Performances are excellent from all the stars. Just two episodes are not enough to form any opinion, but it’s definitely a great start. This may turn out to be a binge-worthy show.
Overall, the first two episodes make for a gripping watch with a good screenplay and tight performances. Not sure why the makers have adopted for such streaming strategy because if they release all episodes in one go then it would made the better impact. My view on this series Recommended. In a first, a web series will have spinoff shows in India, Mexico and Italy. Wouldn’t it be spectacular to watch Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Samantha Ruth Prabhu join forces to beat up the rogues trying to manipulate the world order to upset global peace?
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