‘Citadel’ is endlessly entertaining & thrilling for its crazy twists

Creator: Josh Appelbaum, Bryan Oh, David Weil
Cast: Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra, Stanley Tucci, Lesley Manville, Ashley Cummings, Roland
Genre: Action thriller
Duration: 6 episodes, 39-59 minutes

Plotline

Mason Kane (Richard Madden) is an ordinary dad and husband with a perfect, peaceful life in the States. But the dream life he has built for himself is threatened to shatter when he is approached by the secret agency Citadel.

Turns out that the meek Mason Kane is actually an elite secret agent. And almost seen as a hero among his peers. His equally skilled co-worker, Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra), has gone missing. But why does he not remember his past? And what will he do now that he does?

Melodrama & twists

On paper, ‘Citadel’ may seem like any other cash-grab TV show attempting to be the next star-studded spy hit. But the action series is actually incredibly fun to watch.

This is thanks to the campiness and highly unrealistic set-up of the ‘Citadel universe’. The writers don’t care about realism or social commentary. What they do care about is throwing Mason and Nadia into the craziest missions and death-defying operations.

What more, the melodramatic situations and plot twists dropped my jaw to the floor. More than once, I found myself squealing at reveals, clapping at stunts and smirking or nodding at quirky one-liners.

Cast & chemistry

Richard Madden proved himself as a hugely bankable action hero in movies like ‘Eternals’ and shows like ‘Bodyguard’ (when is the next Season out anyway?). With his smouldering looks, he even brought in a dedicated crowd of romance fans with his role as Prince Charming in ‘Cinderella’. But as Mason Kane, Madden looks like he is stifling laughter.

The Scottish actor visibly struggles to maintain a serious face even in scenes with shocking revelations. Instead of anguish, we get a pout, an almost whiny voice, and eyes with that playful sparkle. This would’ve been bad if Richard wasn’t so dang charming. But because he is so likeable as Mason Kane, we are tempted to be amused at everything like he seems to be

As Mason’s love interest and co-agent Nadia Sinh, Priyanka Chopra is a total siren. She’s a brown Jessica Rabbit filling her red dress with her curves. Compared to Madden, Chopra succeeds more at keeping a serious face on so we know that society is actually at risk of collapse without their help.

And finally for the arch-villain. Lesley Manville had been playing soft or vulnerable characters in indie films such as Mike Leigh’s ‘Another Year’ and ‘Mr. Turner’. But lately, the 67-year old has transformed into a colder persona such as in ‘Phantom Thread’ and ‘Harlots’.

In ‘Citadel’, she turns up the dial. Manville plays Dahlia Archer, a sniggering senior agent who basks in torturing her enemies. She sends chills down our spines, but doesn’t forget to stay classy while doing the violent deeds.

Bottomline

‘Citadel’ refuses to be serious or realistic. So it is not quite a prestige show that will win many awards. However, it is some of the best fun I have had in months from an action series.

Creators Josh Appelbaum, Bryan Oh and David Weil go back to basics with this crowd-pleaser. Fun and thrills are the highest priority.

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