Citadel
2023 Series
Produced by Joe and Anthony Russo
★★
Citadel
Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video
Copyright: Amazon Studios
Description: Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Nadia Sinh
Filename: CIDL_S1_FG_AGBO_01122702_Still015_R2_700.jpg
After aiming to be the modern television and film counterpart to the Coen Brothers, following a successful Marvel run and a mediocre streaming film play with Netflix and Apple TV+, the Russo Brothers are now lending their producing superpowers to Amazon in hopes of creating an international sensation with their new series Citadel. The show is marketed as a high-stakes, globe-spanning spy thriller starring Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, and Stanley Tucci. Unfortunately for The Russo Brothers, Citadel is anything but thrilling.
What could be an interesting conceit is burdened by half-baked ideas and cliche-ridden storylines. Without spoiling anything, Madden’s titular protagonist is embedded with storylines and happenings that are increasingly more formulaic and trite. He is constantly put into situations that have played out on screen for ages. Madden tries, however, to bring the mundanity of what he is given to work with to life, as do Chopra-Jonas and Tucci. It is unfortunate that said material was already dead on arrival.
Even the look of Citadel is bland at best. The actors are always either extremely washed out or pushed up against a ridiculously obvious green screen. This is extremely frustrating when you consider the massive budget backing the series. Sure, you have stars like Madden, but he’s not The Rock, so where is the money going? If I had to wager, I would say straight to the Russo’s pockets.
With the sheer amount of finances, knowability, and connections the Russo Brothers have made, it's a shame that their output post-Marvel has been overwhelmingly lackluster. With a film like Captain America: The Winter Soldier under their belt, you know they have the capability to pull off this sort of political thriller. It just makes you wonder who actually had the brains behind those earlier works.
