‘Citadel’ preview: an ambitious spy thriller that’s big on action set-pieces but treads familiar territory – Entertainment Focus

Spy thrillers are all the rage at the moment with the likes of ‘The Terminal List’ and ‘The Night Agent’ pulling strong streaming figures. A new one to add to the list is ‘Citadel’ starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, which launches on Prime Video tomorrow with its first two episodes.

‘Citadel’ begins with an action-packed sequence on a train (not dissimilar to ‘Bullet Train’), that takes place 8 years ago and establishes the relationship between Citadel agents Mason Kane (Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Chopra Jonas). Battling Manticore, a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows, the fight sees Citadel fall. After narrowly escaping the incident with their lives, the agents have their memories wiped and assume new identities.

Of course, it’s only a matter of time before Kane and Sinh are brought back together and the wheels are set in motion when their former Citadel colleague Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci) turns up on Kane’s doorstep to enlist his help to stop Manticore from establishing a new world order. Can Citadel rise again and stop Manticore’s evil plan?

It’s very hard in the spy thriller genre to do anything wholly original and ‘Citadel’ definitely draws inspiration from everything from James Bond through to ‘Bullet Train’. The show looks expensive and it’s at its most impressive during the action sequences, evidenced in the opening moments of the very first episode. That shouldn’t be too surprising given that The Russo Brothers are involved as executive producers. ‘Citadel’ establishes its ambition early on as it jumps around the globe promising action in all corners of the world. It slightly concerned me that the show may get overly complicated but time will tell as more episodes arrive.

Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas are no strangers to this kind of material and they are sure to hook in viewers regardless of the series’ plot. Madden enjoyed a huge breakthrough in ‘The Bodyguard’ while Chopra Jonas led the short-lived spy series ‘Quantico’, so these roles are hardly a stretch for either of them. Their chemistry on screen is immediate and they play off one another nicely, giving viewers a partnership they can root for over the course of the season.

‘Citadel’ clearly has big ambitions but judging on the first few episodes, it’s going to take a while to truly find its feet. The problem the show has is that it sets the bar high in terms of action sequences and it’s hard to believe it’s going to be able to keep up that pace. The episodes lag when the action takes a backseat and the story feels like it’s going to get very convoluted very quickly. From what I’ve seen, I’d suggest sticking with the show for now and hopefully it’ll find the right balance sooner rather than later.

‘Citadel’ premieres on Prime Video on Friday 28^th April 2023 with the first two episodes. New episodes will be released on Fridays.