Citadel: this dear blockbuster that is so effective (review)

With its colossal budget worthy of Marvel, the series produced by the Amazon studio unwaveringly asserts its impressive visual ambitions, without however succeeding in going beyond the stage of good entertainment. To be seen this evening in clear on M6.

Anthony and Joe Russo are used to handling huge wads of greenbacks. The two brother directors have become specialists in the new generation blockbuster, the one that impresses without asking too many questions. After The Gray Man, a huge action film for Netflix led by Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling – with an epic budget of 200 million dollars – here they are arriving on M6 unencrypted, this evening, with Citadel.

A new colossus with silver feet, built on a mountain of banknotes. In this case 240 million dollars for six episodes…

It was Amazon which paid for this XXL production, broadcast in 2023 on Prime Video in streaming. A budget which simply places Citadel in second place for the most expensive series of all time… just behind the half a billion spent by Amazon (already) to finance its adaptation of Lord of the Rings. 240 million dollars is more than Top Gun: Maverick, it’s more than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or Black Adam. A colossal sum that the studios are now ready to entrust, without (too much) batting an eyelid to the Russo brothers, who know like no one else how to make the most of their wealthy means. They demonstrated it brilliantly with Infinty War then Avengers: Endgame ($400 million per film), two epic hits in the top 5 of the biggest box office hits of all time. They proved it again with The Gray Man, in the Top 10 most viewed Netflix films.

What about Citadel then? Without the slightest doubt, it will be able to excite as many spectators as possible on the planet. Because the money was used wisely by the two executive producers, to stage a spy series which ostensibly leans towards James Bond and more precisely the 007 saga of Daniel Craig. We find the same tone there, both cool and casual, tinged with a certain dramaturgy, but above all enveloped in a hyper-spectacular castagne ballet. Yes, Citadel has the budget of a blockbuster, and it makes sense: it’s a blockbuster! The series, which actually spans 4 hours, has absolutely nothing to envy, aesthetically or visually, of what is most impressive in cinema. An action epic whose production value bursts the screen.

Just like its sparkling sexy cast! Richard Madden does the job as a serious-looking agent, as he did in Bodyguard. But it is above all Priyanka Chopra who irradiates the screen with each appearance. Glamorous to the tips of her endless eyelashes, she is the soul of Citadel… at least until her fall. Because this international spy super-agency, which maintains the balance of the world, in the shadows – without being influenced by national geopolitical interests like the CIA or MI6 – will fall. Manticore, a powerful, even more secret crime syndicate, has managed to infiltrate Citadel and will exterminate its agents during one bloody night. Since then, only a handful have survived and are trying, in hiding, to lead the counterattack…

Like the opening scene in the bar car of a high-speed train, the series revolves around dazzling action sequences between two sensual gazes. A frenetic montage, which leaves no room for subtlety or gray matter. The extravagant production under Red Bull slips as soon as the camera lands and the script is supposed to take over. Only Stanley Tucci ultimately manages to bring the small dose of gravity necessary to any good spy thriller. But too bad. Citadel embraces its uninhibited True Lies side. When James Cameron films a Harrier fighter plane in the middle of the buildings of Los Angeles, everyone applauds. The series aims for nothing less.

Citadel, in 6 episodes, broadcast this evening on M6