Producers Joe and Anthony Russo enter the spy game with a big-budget action series that's loaded with thrills but is somewhat brainless. Citadel's gorgeous leads dole out bullets, beatings, and explosions in breezy episodic fashion. The premise has an independent clandestine service nearly wiped out by a powerful enemy. The surviving agents strike back against a nefarious plot after an unexpected reunion. Critics were provided with the first three of the six-episode season. This isn't a show that requires a thinking cap. Cool stuff going boom makes up for the lack of intrigue. Why let Kingsman have all the fun?
On a train in the Italian Alps, the stunning Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) eyes her target. Mason Kane (Richard Madden), her former lover and partner, sits down for minor flirtation. The pair banter back and forth before getting down to serious business. A scientist has enriched uranium for sale on the black market. Nadia dutifully applies her red lipstick before making her move. Mason will handle his bodyguard.
Citadel Destroyed
It's a trap! Nadia and Mason were lured unto the train. The baddie informs her that fellow agents are being assassinated worldwide. Manticore has infiltrated and destroyed Citadel, but they radically underestimate a lethal couple. The train explodes and crashes into the water. Mason wakes up in a hospital with no memory of what happened. His found passport identifies him as Kyle Conroy.
Eights years later in rural Oregon, Kyle has married Abby (Ashleigh Cummings). Their daughter, Hendrix (Caoilinn Springall), continually asks her dad about his past. Kyle, who's covered in scars, asks his therapist what to do. A DNA test might help Kyle find a distant relative. It sets off an alert in Chicago. Kyle returns home to a terrifying scenario. Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci) forces everyone into his van at gunpoint. This is a rescue, not a kidnapping. He can't believe that Mason is alive. There's no time for a long explanation. Manticore has found the location of Citadel's X-case.
Sets Expectations Early
Citadel's premiere, "The Human Enigma," takes off like a rocket. There's no carefully crafted exposition building here. Kyle is back on the beat with Bernard in the blink of an eye. He catches a knife that Bernard throws at his head. Muscle memory intact ... let's toss an amnesiac headfirst into a dangerous recovery mission. Kyle obliges because he wants to protect his family. No worries, Bernard can walk you through a secret Manticore lab with an earpiece. This is patently ridiculous and unbelievable, but Citadel sets expectations early. Details take a backseat to slick action scenes.
Citadel chucks every spy cliché in a blender, pours a gasoline mixer, and then sets everything on fire. It's akin to Bond on steroids. Bernard is Q unleashed with deadlier gadgets and a smarmy ego. Tucci hams it up against Manticore adversary Dahlia Archer (Lesley Manville). She's a nasty SPECTRE-esque villain whose verbal lashings are followed by bloody punishment. They are extreme characters in a series that purposely eschews subtlety.
Popcorn Cinema for the Small Screen
Star power saves Citadel from being nonsensical and overblown. Madden's rugged gravitas gives weight to a poorly developed protagonist. Jonas brings significant brawn to stylish beauty. She's tough as nails and adds enough complexity to lift the entire ensemble. Manticore's diabolical agenda and mysterious leadership isn't much of a hook. You root for likable heroes to shred baddies while dancing around their checkered past. This is popcorn cinema for the small screen. The remaining episodes must be relentless to keep the adrenaline flowing.
Citadel is a production of AGBO, Midnight Radio, PKM, Picrow, and Amazon Studios. New episodes premiere each Friday exclusively on Prime Video.