Citadel starts off with the frame inverted, giving one the impression that it is perhaps subverting the genre in a way. Except that it doesn’t. Citadel, for all intents and purposes, plays out like a good ol’ spy story where the punchlines are as effective, and often as necessary, as the punches.Both are in abundance in the first 15 minutes of this highly ambitious, globe-trotting series which even the Russo Bros — Joe and Anthony function as the executive producers — have repeatedly hailed as their most ambitious project. The same men who have the Avengers franchise — the big daddy of the superhero genre, as it were — pinned to their filmography as directorial credits.
Created by David Weil, Citadel, as already mentioned, kicks off like all familiar titles in the genre. A super-speed train careens through the Italian Alps, with the intrigue setting in almost immediately when we see a man and a woman, both exceptionally spiffy and good-looking, trading barbs with sardonic smiles. Their conversation — more bitter than bittersweet — quickly gives us a peek into them as well as their equation. They are both super spies on a common mission on the train. We know that they have been on missions together, but we get more than a hint that it didn’t end well, more personally than otherwise.
Like bonafide spies, they speak a variety of languages, Italian to Mandarin, German to Spanish, all of which are evident within the first conversation, which also presents effective character sketches, where one speaks of “emotional damage” inflicted by the other and of the fact that they “were” a team. One says that the other’s “old habit was lying”, the other quips that it wasn’t as bad as the “old habit of leaving”.
By that time, even though Priyanka Chopra Jonas (red is definitely her colour) and Richard Madden (sharp suits are his thing) make a great pair to feast your eyes on, you impatiently question the level of talkiness. Come on, this is supposed to be a spy thriller... where is the action? Where is the drama? And most importantly, where was the $300 million spent?
The answers, thankfully, come soon enough. In a jaw-dropping, breathless action sequence which sets the tone for the rest of Citadel (we are hoping, since only two episodes have been made available for review, the same number which will drop on Prime Video on April 28), we are swept into some high-stakes punch and pow-wow where both Priyanka and Richard — he is Mason Kane, she Nadia Sinh — go all in physically, delivering on Citadel’s promise of a caper where the action will be more than A+.
Except that this is no lighthearted spy caper. Citadel functions more in the serious, dramatic space, with a sprinkling of humour coming in (very effectively, we may add) from the ever-reliable Stanley Tucci. Playing Bernard Orlick, part spy handler-part quartermaster, Tucci brings in both quirk and quip, in the dry and deadpan way in which only he can.
But not for long. The day on the train is also the day when Citadel — a secret spy organisation, described as, “the last line of defence of good in the world” — is betrayed and falls, each of its agents across the globe is obliterated in unison by the powerful syndicate Manticore. That Citadel means a stronghold, a protective cavern of sorts, and Manticore is named after a lethal predator in Persian mythology, sets up the good-vs-evil story succinctly in more ways than one.
Eight years later, Madden is no longer Mason Kane, his memories wiped out as a standard Citadel procedure when an agent’s identity is compromised. However, Manticore — with the deliciously evil Lesley Manville playing Dahlia Archer, a vital member as well as a resourceful government rep — is alive and kicking (armed with a set of formidable twin assassins who will instantly remind you of the twin predators Mischka and Grischka in the 007 outing Octopussy), with Mason being brought in once again to take on the enemy. But will he, without Nadia, still be “hot stuff”?
Citadel doesn’t throw in many surprises, but delivers on the promise of a breathless — and breathtaking, given the diverse topography on display only within the first two episodes — rollercoaster ride. Priyanka features in the show’s best action scenes, her personality and physicality rendering itself organically to both gravity-defying set pieces as well as raw hand-to-hand combat. This is corroborated by the fact that Joe Russo has gone on record to state that Priyanka has done more action in Citadel than Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans have in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The more emotional heavy-lifting, at least in the first two episodes, is done by Madden, as he tries to make sense of his dual identities — super spy on one hand and family man, who coaches Little League, on the other. The two actors play off each other well, their on-a-razor-edge chemistry lending itself well to the taut tension of the series.
Episode 2 ends on a cliffhanger, with Archer’s words: “I am exceptionally skilled in getting Citadel agents to turn,” setting up the game for a round of intrigue. “Hot stuff”? We sure think so.
