Star Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Richard Madden, Stanley Tucci
Web Series Review: CITADEL SEASON 2 is a fast-paced thriller that benefits from Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ action avatar
Director: Joe Russo, Greg Yaitanes
Synopsis:
CITADEL SEASON 2 is the story of outcasts trying to save the world. Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci) is kidnapped by Paolo Braga (Gabriel Leone), who wants him to create a mind-control program that can be inserted into a person through a chip embedded in their body, thereby turning the individual into a killing machine. With the G8 Summit set to take place in the next 10 days, Paolo plans to use the mind-control program to assassinate the Russian president at the summit for his ulterior motive. Bernard is halfway through making the chip when he cleverly escapes from Paolo’s estate. Help comes unexpectedly from James Hutch (Jack Reynor), an ex-CIA rogue officer. Meanwhile, Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) is attacked by a Manticore gang member. In another part of the world, Mason Kane’s (Richard Madden) cover is blown when his wife, Abby (Ashleigh Cummings) tries to escape and contact her daughter, Hendrix (Caoilinn Springall). Bernard then assembles Nadia and Mason, along with Frank Sharpe (Matt Berry), and Hutch’s colleague and girlfriend, Celine Rohr (Lina El Arabi). The mission is simple: stop Paolo from contacting an elusive Korean hacker nicknamed Edison and prevent him from completing the mind-control program at any cost. However, the challenges are aplenty. All these agents are wanted criminals and, moreover, they don’t get along with each other. Things are particularly tense between Nadia and Mason. What happens next forms the rest of the series.
Citadel Season 2 Story Review:
David Weil, David J Rosen, Gursimran Sandhu, Kennedy Edmonds and Tori Sampson’s story is a bhel puri of various spy flicks and shows over the years. David Weil, David J Rosen, Gursimran Sandhu, Kennedy Edmonds and Tori Sampson’s screenplay is fast-paced and ensures there’s something happening every few minutes to keep the viewers invested. However, the writing has several blemishes. The dialogues are fine and the ones mouthed by Jack Reynor raise some laughs.
Joe Russo and Greg Yaitanes’ direction is decent. To give credit where it’s due, there’s no boring or dull moment in the show. The duration of each of the 7 episode is concise, ranging between 36 and 49 minutes. The scenes of Hutch are entertaining, especially when he rescues Bernard. The Greenpeace Gala stands out especially for its sets. The scene that is most memorable is the Citadel agents infiltrating CIA headquarters in Rome, Italy. It works well as its novel, fresh and viewers won’t know what to expect. The suspense of the assassin is also a surprise.
On the flipside, there are too many twists and turns, some of which seem to be forced just to give viewers a jolt. Everyone seems to have a hidden motive; a few of them could have been entirely done away with and it would not have made any difference to the plot. A crucial character in the end disappears and moreover, its laughable to see the agents coolly getting into high-profile events. This is especially in the G8 Summit scene. A particular sequence involving a torch is so silly that one wonders how it got approved.
Citadel Season 2 Performances:
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is kickass as Nadia. It’s already established that her action moves are cool; Hollywood, especially, has positioned her as an action heroine. In CITADEL SEASON 2, she continues her action endeavour with confidence and style. Richard Madden puts in a sincere effort but is let down by the writing. One is expected to look up to the hero of the show. But here, the hero is flawed and foolish and hence, one would hardly root for him. Stanley Tucci is the star of the show. Viewers recently saw him deliver a wonderful performance in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, and here, he is seen in a completely contrasting avatar. He looks quite impressive doing action. Jack Reynor and Matt Berry deliver entertaining performances. Gabriel Leone is apt as the antagonist. Ashleigh Cummings, Lina El Arabi, Lesley Manville (Dahlia Archer), Merle Dandridge (Joana), Rayna Vallandingham (Aparna), Kaycie Chase (Asha) and others lend able support.
Citadel Season 2 music and other technical aspects:
Jeff Russo’s music has a cinematic feel. The tense theme especially enhances the impact. Newton Thomas Sigel’s cinematography captures the various locales of Europe beautifully. Gavin Bocquet’s production design is A-grade, while Veronica Fragola’s costumes are glamorous. Andy Morrison, Tim Porter, Tom Davis and Crispin Green’s editing is appropriate.
Citadel Season 2 Review Conclusion:
On the whole, CITADEL SEASON 2 is a slickly mounted and fast-paced spy thriller that benefits from Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ commanding action avatar, Stanley Tucci’s superb act and a few exciting set pieces. However, the overstuffed plot, forced twists, convenient writing and some unintentionally silly moments prevent it from becoming the gripping global espionage saga it aspires to be.
Rating – 2.5 stars
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