Is Amazon's New Spy Series 'Citadel' Worth The Hype? OutKick's Review Is Here [SPOILER FREE]
"Citadel" has arrived on Amazon, and as expected, it's incredibly intriguing.
Amazon has made an absolutely monster bet on "Citadel." The series with Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas reportedly cost the streaming giant $200 million. That's more than the overwhelming majority of major Hollywood blockbusters.
For comparison, the final season of "Game of Thrones" only cost $90 million. The amount of money Amazon has invested into the spy series is nothing short of staggering.
That leaves fans with one very simple question: does the highly-anticipated spy-action saga live up to the hype?
Let's dive in.
"Citadel" is out on Amazon Prime. (Credit: Amazon Studios)
Yes, "Citadel" is awesome.
As OutKick's loyal readers know, I'm a massive junkie for anything involving war or espionage. If it can scratch that itch, I'm giving it at least a shot.
"Citadel" does more than just scratch the itch. The first episode of the series grabs you from the jump and refuses to let go.
That should give viewers plenty of hope that the rest of the series will be as great as advertised.
Is Citadel worth watching? (Credit: Amazon Studios)
The premise on the surface is pretty simple. Mason Kane (Richard Madden) along with Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) are members of a highly-secretive spy organization known as Citadel. This isn't the CIA, FSB or Israeli Mossad. It's made clear Citadel exists above them all.....well, until it's seemingly destroyed in the opening scenes.
That's where the mystery truly begins. The audience picks up eight years later and Mason Kane, now living under a different name with no memory, is searching for who he used to be. What happened eight years ago to him?
"Citadel" starts (Credit: Amazon Studios)
The series is incredibly mysterious.
"What you were was a myth. What you were was Citadel."
This is a line delivered from Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci) to Mason as the latter tries to figure out his life and what the hell has happened to him. That mentality and mystery is what will carry fans moving forward.
That's about as much as I'll say without digging into spoilers, but one thing is very clear. The journey of "Citadel" is going to be one that takes us into the past just as much as the present.
"Citadel" has an absolutely loaded cast. (Credit: Amazon Studios)
"Citadel" has plenty of potential.
Right now, viewers in America just want options that are pure entertainment. Nothing more. Nothing less. "Citadel" gets the job done through one episode.
It's unbelievably intriguing. Who is Mason Kane? What happened to him? What is Citadel? There are tons of questions, and right now, very few answers.
For those of you who remember the hit show "Alias" with Jennifer Garner, I'd say that's a very similar comparison.
There's spy networks the world doesn't know about, it seems like there are clear good guys and bad guys (but is that the case) and there is a mysterious backstory that must be unraveled.
That's more than enough to keep me interested.
If you're interested in a spy series loaded with potential, I recommend giving "Citadel" a shot. Hopefully, it keeps the momentum moving forward.