Citadel review: Priyanka Chopra knocks it out of the park as action hero, but Russo Brothers' spy show offers little new

Creator: David Weil

Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Richard Madden, Stanley Tucci, Lesley Manville, Osy Ikhile, Ashleigh Cummings, and Roland Møller

Where to watch: Prime Video

Rating: 3 stars

When Priyanka Chopra had made her brave transition to Hollywood at the peak of her career back home, she had put one condition – that her standing in a project be the same that she was accustomed to in India. It was a bold ask. No Indian actor has ever been able to lead major titles in the West. It took nearly a decade but PCJ has finally managed that, in one of the biggest shows ever. Citadel is as much of an introduction to the West of Priyanka’s full potential as it is the Russos’ effort to bring a cinematic universe model into streaming. Large-scale, ambitious, and relentless, it is a signature Russo action blockbuster but one that, at times, is indistinguishable from their previous work. The only saving grace is the performances of the key players, led by Priyanka, finally unshackled by Hollywood.

Citadel is the story of two former spies – Nadia Sinh (Priyanka) and Mason Kane (Richard Madden), who were the top agents of the titular shadowy spy agency. Eight years after they ‘disappeared’ and lost all their memories, they must team up again and stop yet another shadowy (but also sinister) organisation called Manticore from getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction. It may be pertinent to know that Citadel is a six-episode series but Prime Video gave advance screeners of only the first two episodes, upon which this review is based.

The futuristic show gives both the characters a lot to play with, even though the rest of the support cast is drowning in stereotypes and cliches. Nadia and Mason have depth even though they have underlying traits of the typical spy thriller heroes. But the two actors bring out the charm and likability needed for the characters. But that’s down to them and not so much to the writing. We have seen what Madden can do when given a fleshed-out character (remember Bodyguard?) but here, Mason Kane is somewhat restrained.

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Nadia, on the other hand, is much more than what Hollywood has ever given Priyanka. The character is better than what she had in Quantico and gives her centre stage, which her other big projects (The Matrix Revolutions and Baywatch) never did. It allows to not only showcase her full range of talents (from action to drama and wit), but also utilises her screen presence flawlessly. Indian films have done that in the past, ranging from Mary Kom to Don 2, but it’s refreshing to see Hollywood repeatedly portray south Asians as badasses in their projects now.

But the rest of the cast does not get this freedom. Stanley Tucci manages to stay afloat, largely due to the truckloads of talent he has. Given the cliched quirky tech guy character, he makes it likable, snappy, and non-irritating with his signature charm. Lesley Manville and Roland Moller, however, end up being the stereotypical villains we have seen in countless spy thrillers over decades.

The premise and set up of Citadel are good, and the world building promising. The show very subtly introduces us to a dystopian world without making a real big deal about the said dystopia. It’s a good approach. But beyond that, it falters. Citadel is part of a generation where we have come to expect smarter, well thought-out shows that have very few loopholes. This one, however, takes far too many liberties with, infusing plot armours and conveniences every few minutes.

The action set pieces do elevate it, though. The action is where the show really comes alive. It is brutal, visceral, and quite physical, almost reminiscent of some Indian films, but on a much slicker (and richer) scale. Priyanka steals the show with her ferocity in some of the action sequences, makig the audience believe that this 5-feet-6-inch woman can go toe to toe with giants and assassins. Richard Madden, at times, is relegated to a bystander in his own scenes because of the actress.

By no means is Citadel a bad show. It is thoroughly enjoyable and at times, whistle-worthy as well. But there is no novelty, at least not in the first two episodes. The hope is that the narrative will recover and find its feet in the remainder of the season because there is so much promise here. Showrunner David Weil has tried to bring something novel but it almost feels like he is held back by the ‘Russo formula’, which depends more on relentless high-octane action than sound storytelling. It will be interesting to see if Citadel goes the Extraction way in the remaining four episodes or the Gray Man way (I sincerely hope not). The first two episodes drop on Prime Video on April 28.