Critic Reviews

Some might criticize the show's hefty price tag, its globe-hopping, shoot-'em-up nature, or even the accents. But overall, Citadel is a thrilling ride, as long as you don't take it too seriously and embrace its slightly campy side.

The secret sauce of Citadel, beyond the excellent performances, is that it manages to get you interested in the plot while still plunging into absurd realms.

Citadel isn’t going to change the way you look at the spy thriller, but it is going to give you all of the genre’s most-loved tropes. If you’re looking for something knottier, move along. If you just looking for a brain-numbing thrill ride, strap in and hang on. Citadel bursts out the gate, full of swagger and sex appeal.

It is basically televisual crack. Twists, turns, explosions, old-fashioned fisticuffs, the deployment of outrageous gadgetry from Acme’s Deus Ex Machina range, torture scenes, new locations (the Alps, London, all over the States, Paris, Spain, Iran – I may have missed a few in my delirious, glassy-eyed state), are parcelled out in one long, glorious stream.

Either you’re gonna love this unruly behemoth or bemoan the sorry state of blockbuster entertainment. Honestly, I kind of dug it and love the pairing of the main stars who appear to be having fun at toying with each other and this “Mission: Impossible”-like scenario.

A sleek, glossy spy thriller that grabs the audience immediately and never loosens its grip. It’s a collection of spy movie cliches, but with all of them shined up and refurbished so that they seem almost fresh.

Citadel has the feel of an old-fashioned spy show, dressed up with sleek leads (“Game of Thrones’” Richard Madden and “Quantico’s” Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and state-of-the-art action. The time-bending plot certainly won’t earn many points for originality, but it’s the kind of meat-and-potatoes series that should find an attentive audience on Amazon, which has already tapped into a similar vein with “Jack Ryan” and “Reacher.”

Not the world-changing mega-show Amazon might have wanted, but neither is it a total misfire. Imagine an action-packed Owen Wilson spy comedy without Owen Wilson (or excessive comedy) and you won’t be too far from the mark.

This looks awfully like Madden submitting his showreel to Barbara Broccoli. One dashing ski sequence in episode three is a shameless Pierce Brosnan tribute. But all things nowadays being equal, it could just as easily be Chopra Jonas’s audition to play Bond too.

If you’re expecting anything more than fast-faced, energetic, exciting breakneck espionage action on a grandiose scale, you may be left somewhere between disappointed and underwhelmed. For everyone else; Citadel is borderline camp, precariously cheesy, and a whole lot of fun.