Amazon may have more money than god, but it’s becoming increasingly clear. Throwing cash at the problem of “making a hit TV show” is not the solution they believed it to be.
However, the second most expensive show ever made at $300 million, but one without any sort of established IP to boost its prospects. Also, Amazon has had a frankly bizarre amount of faith in this series, and at least so far, that does not seem to be paying off.
As it stands, Citadel currently has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes from a few dozen critics. That’s a few points into the “Rotten” rating, but using the somewhat skewed scale of TV, that’s quite low. Even just browsing a handful of currently airing shows, nearly all are far above this. Netflix’s The Diplomat (89%), Beef (98%), and The Night Agent (75%). Epix’s From (100%). Peacock’s Mrs Davis (89%). It’s almost hard to find anything as low as Citadel right now. HBO’s Love and Death is not reviewing amazingly at 62%, but that also did not…cost $300 million to make.
The Russo brothers’ $300-million Amazon spy show ‘Citadel’ is a disaster
In their post-Marvel career, the Russo brothers’ primary achievement is extracting vast production budgets from streaming services. Following their (terrible!) $250-million Netflix movie The Gray Man, their new Amazon miniseries Citadel clocked in at almost $300 million. A baffling number when you see how cheap it looks on screen—although that’s far from the only problem
However, in theory, this miniseries should offer blockbuster production values. They are launching a franchise of international spinoffs for Amazon. As with other Russo projects (although here they’re exec producers instead of directors). So, there’s an obvious hope that they’ll repeat their Avenger’s success.
In practice, Citadel is a Bourne Identity/Mission Impossible ripoff with hamfisted writing and a visibly low-rent aesthetic. Viewed through a fog of grey/bronze colour correction, its action scenes are bland and its locations forgettable. And Offering no directorial eye for building tension. On every level, Citadel is impossible to take seriously.
The show’s premise is silly but perfectly acceptable for a lightweight action thriller. Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) are a pair of spies who work for an organisation named Citadel and lose their memories after a mission goes wrong.
Priyanka Chopra’s ‘Citadel’ gets From ‘Absurdly Fun Spy Thriller’ to ‘Bland’
She told Variety, revealing that she had “a scar after shooting the Amazon Prime Video series. Her left eyebrow had an unfortunate run-in with a camera.”
Released on April 28 on Amazon Prime Video, the high-stakes drama is executive produced by the Russo Brothers’ AGBO and showrunner David Weil. Also, stars Richard Madden, Stanley Tucci, Lesley Manville, and Ashleigh Cummings in main roles. The story follows elite agents Mason Kane (Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Chopra Jonas). They had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives after the independent global spy agency Citadel’s fall.
The first two episodes are out, and reviews for the highly anticipated series have been mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Citadel” opened to an average 57% score. The Guardian calls it “an absurdly fun spy thriller,” which is “basically televisual crack,” while Peter Travers of ABC notes that what the series “lacks in originality, it makes up for in mind-blowing action.”
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