Splinter Cell: Deathwatch

Really well done and a good testament to Tom Clancy as a whole. The story is about a 7/10 but the the action is truly the best that have ever seen in my life. From the technical nuances of the gun play and martial arts used in the show the action is beautifully brutal and knowledgeable. Take into account the animation, style, and stealth sequences. Then you realize that this show is 100% a worthwhile watch and absolutely worth your time. 9/10

Animation & Artstyle: Strongest attribute of the show. Overall tone and musical selection works. Animation is smooth and actually puts shows with bigger budgets to shame especially some big name shows in Japan. The stealth scenes are fun and suspensful enough and most of the CQC is easy to watch. Despite this I still would've have liked to see some karambit action and some Sam Fisher squeezing your neck style interrogation scenes like in the games. Furthermore, I must make mention of the show's opening. I think it is the weakest part of the animation and artstyle in terms of execution. I didn't like all the petrified statues and I still don't understand the metaphorical nor the symbolic meaning of it all. Also what is the meaning behind Sam and McKenna approaching one another on the large scale steps and why? Choreography: As a whole it is not bad at all. Stealth and CQC is good. But in the decisive moments it is actually quite silly. Old Man Sam outshooting a sniper with a pistol after sprinting hard. Old Man Sam, ensuring all his enemies are proper dead EXCEPT the big bad guy; we'll just stab him once and get away. McKenna, oh McKenna, she does not embody the spirit of 3rd/4th Echelon one bit. She is the antithesis of cool, calm, collected, and clandestine operations. Writing: Without a doubt the weakest part of the show. It is bad. Hate to break it to any fans of the franchise but the writers certainly forgot who the main character even was.....because it most definitely was not Sam friggin' Fisher. So many missed opportunities (I'm not even going to delve into the twins and their father) and poor pacing. Is this because of Netflixes 8 episode budget and/or structure or due to the failures of the writers? I honestly think the latter..... Firstly, they don't even truly explore what 3rd/4th Echelon actually is. There is an extremely brief attempt at an explanation in a short scene between Grim and Jo. The writers fail to build up the prestige, uniqueness, and unrivalled proficiency of such a division. They undeniably want to attract a younger audience by introducing new, young, and people of colour. I'm all fine with that as a relatively young and POC myself but it has to be woven in with greater care and seamlessness. But both McKenna and the new kid prodigy whose name I forget are not portrayed well. Starting with McKenna; she is a loose cannon who has constant outbursts both verbally and physically....like really how on earth did she land this job? Why can't young and POC characters be depicted with greater subtlety and nuance. Far too often, they are portrayed to be loudmouthed, brash, and moody. Instead of a typical revenge story and grief stricken emotional outbursts compromising the job; McKenna's grief really could've been explored with more nuance. A melancholy grief, a philosophical reflection, rather than hindering her performance and mission why not enhancing her clarity and focus? This is what makes these Cells the best in the world. It is the mission above all else, even over oneself. Phenomenal self-emotional regulation seperating the best from the rest. This is the super power of a true Splinter Cell. They are the true unsung heroes, no valour nor medals here.

Ultimately, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is a production that has some good visual moments and effective voice acting, but fails to capture the spirit of the franchise. It works as light, fast-paced entertainment, but disappoints those who expected a true expansion of Sam Fisher's legacy. New audiences may enjoy the action sequences, but fans of the games will surely come away feeling that they have seen great potential wasted.There was no need to reinvent the character or transform the series into something so distant from its origins. It was enough to remember that sometimes Sam Fisher's true power lies not in explosions or gunfire, but in silence and shadow. And that is exactly what Deathwatch fails to honor.Translated with **** (free version)

Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is a mess dressed as a legacy revival — sleek on the surface, empty at its core. It’s not merely bad; it’s a textbook case of a story that misunderstands its own DNA, missing the mark so completely it stops being offensive and becomes quietly tragic. The ultimate irony? The main character — the icon whose name built the franchise — spends the series playing second fiddle in his own story. When the shadow outshines the spy, the mission was lost long before it began. Tl;Dr If Splinter Cell: Deathwatch were a stealth mission, it would trip every alarm in the first five minutes and still insist it’s doing fine. This adaptation manages to take one of gaming’s most cerebral, tension-driven franchises and strip away nearly everything that made it distinctive. The result is a loud, directionless exercise in style over substance — a show that mistakes motion for momentum and noise for narrative. The action sequences are slick but soulless, the dialogue lands with all the grace of a flashbang in a library, and the tone shifts so wildly it feels like three different creative teams were racing deadlines on separate continents. What remains is an identity crisis with a great color palette. There are flashes of what could have been — moments where the lighting, atmosphere, and pacing hint at genuine espionage storytelling — but those moments vanish beneath an avalanche of generic shootouts and forgettable villains. In the end, Deathwatch feels less like a rebirth of Splinter Cell and more like a noisy eulogy delivered by someone who never met the deceased. Verdict: Technically competent, narratively bankrupt, and spiritually tone-deaf. If Sam Fisher saw this, he’d turn off his goggles and walk out quietly. 1/10 Mission failed.

Do not under any circumstances watch this. Someone murdered the series and is wearing it around as a skin suit. It’s like slapping a Ferarri logo on a Ford Focus.