‘Spark Notes version of an action series’: Critics blast Priyanka Chopra’s Citadel

Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden has teamed up with Bollywood turned Hollywood diva Priyanka Chopra for Amazon Prime’s action series ‘Citadel’, with the episodes already streaming online. Both actors went on the traditional promotional tour, gushing about each other, with Chopra revealing that this was the first time she was getting the same pay as her male co-star, and Madden praising Chopra as a ‘brilliant improvisor’ who is fully committed to her roles.

However critics are not impressed with the $300 million spectacle, calling it a ‘flop’, ‘poorly-paced’ and a cheap copy of James Bond movies, without anything much to say about the current affairs of the world.

Time magazine called the series ‘all spectacle, no substance’ and shared how aside from the glamorous locations, as well as the charming performances of both Chopra and Madden, who star as former lovers and top agents working for an elite international spy agency ‘Citadel’, the show didn’t offer much:

“But when the smoke clears, geopolitical window dressing aside, the show has little to say on the state of the world. Whether it’s due to behind-the-scenes turbulence, including the replacement of a showrunner and extensive reshoots, or comes out of the difficulty of making a spy thriller palatable to people in all of the 200-plus countries and territories where Prime Video is available, the absence of substantive ideas, or even much Bond-style humor, makes Citadel feel pretty pointless. Maybe it’s possible to make a great show that appeals to everyone without offending anyone, but this isn’t it.”

The Ringer had also shared criticism of the lack of dramatic tension, and called the show “a spark notes version of an action series” because of the limited attention given to detail and narrative, recounting how the original showrunner Josh Applebaum exited the series in 2020 over creative differences.

Rolling Stones has labelled Citadel as “$300 million disaster for Amazon,” and harshly calling it “bland, generic and almost shockingly cheap-looking, given the price tag.” The performances by Chopra and Madden were called ‘charming but also not popping off the screen.

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