Citadel: Honey Bunny

A complete waste of a webseries with no proper storyline, poor screenplay, no proper emotional connect as well.. The movie shuttles between 1992 and 2000 but the cars, locations, guns and technology look more modern than that times which itself kills the authenticity of the plot.. They all fight for some "Thing" which is not properly explained about the meaning or significance which makes it boring.. Good cast but honestly not able to see good chemistry of the leads... Also good actors chosen and wasted...As usual surprises in betrayals which can no more excite and due to diwali too much of guns and crackers which also makes it very dull watch... Thankfully does not give a big lead with openended sub stories for season 2... There are no motivating factor for watching its part 2...

Watched it in one go last night but that does not mean it's good. It is such a clichéd spy TV show that there are so many times I felt that it should have been made in the years 1992 or 2000 where this story jumps back and forth. Why do the makers of Indian movies or TV feel the need to display a big year sign every time a story timeline transition happens? The audiences are presumed to be naive every time a 1992 or a 2000 appears on the screen in my opinion (and trust me it appears hundreds if not thousands of times). All I am saying is there are some really cool ways that certain filmmakers use to demonstrate this transition. One such method could have been to switch from the cameras available in 1992 and 2000 respectively at the start of this transition and then fade it out but who am I to give suggestions. It really does a good job when the leads are shown as children and you can see the transitions and storytelling becomes completely different from what we see in this back and forth "in your face, you are stupid" banners for 1992 and 2000.

As the title of this review says, expected a lot better from Raj & DK especially due to the fact that a story which could be a 2 hour movie is dragged to almost 6 hours to match the continuity of other series in the same universe.

Talking about the performances now. Varun Dhawan and the little girl are standout performers for me and in a parallel universe it would be so much fun to actually watch both of them in a father daughter spy duo. Samantha tries her best to fit into the character and shines in the earlier episodes of this series with her acting but her overall appearance and close up shots of "went under the knife giveaways" is somewhat irritating and not to mention her accent keeps on changing from being 'normal' in some places and then switching back to a southern forced accent (both Hindi and English) which, I assume, was added for fun elements but falls flat according to me.

Overall it is a big, stretched spy story filled with lot of usual cr*p. As this review is almost as long, boring and probably as meaningless as this show by now, I will still try to highlight some of the things that make it hard to watch.

• Why do shooters have to come close to the main actors in a fight sequence even though they are carrying semi automatic guns?

• None of the supposed bad guys on the wrong side of the storyline seem to have any sort of tactical training. They all come in SUVs, get out of it and literally start walking towards two people shooting at them. I mean they are supposed to be highly trained agents of a legit organisation.

• The lead actress is abducted in the opening sequences of the film and left with her pager in her pocket while still being in the boot of the car. Which she uses to communicate with her daughter.

• You will not see a single cop in the series (maybe there were some but my mind just did not process them being there :P). This has been shot in India and Siberia and seems the cops are out on a holiday while people are ransacking a village or a hotel or even the streets of big cities in both the countries.

I can go on with these goofs as I expected probably way too much from this series but it falls flat for me. Probably the makers did not get the freedom from the studio which is being loathed about in the social media after all. We are a long way from creating a show such as "Bodyguard" or "Slow Horses" but it is a start at least.

I had very high hopes with this series especially after watching Citadel (Priyanka Chopra).

This series looks like very loosely made. We have some very good actors like Menon but not at their best. I did not have very high hopes from Varun Dhawan but the worst out of all was Samantha- I THOUGHT she was a good actor! But I was so wrong!

The series looks bad in terms of direction. It seems the actors were given scripts and told to do whatever they feel like with the scenes.

This really could have been a 7 plus rating series. Better direction and better choice of actors may have helped.

I am sure they spend a lot of money making it but overall it was a disappointment!

Citadel Honey bunny is a captivating spy thriller that follows the high-stakes missions of two elite agents, Honey and Bunny, as they navigate the dangerous world of a secretive spy agency in the early 1990s. Blending action, suspense, romance, humor, and emotional depth, this series strikes a great balance across its six episodes.

The pacing is tight and consistent, with each episode delivering a mix of adrenaline-pumping action and poignant moments that keep you invested. The show shines through a strong screenplay and dynamic character development, which elevate its otherwise simple premise.

Raj and DK have expertly crafted a gripping experience, turning what could have been a straightforward story into a thoroughly engaging narrative. The action sequences are particularly impressive-Varun and Samantha bring their A-game to the high-octane scenes, while the young Nadia (played by the talented child actress) steals the show in every frame. Kay Kay Menon, as always, delivers a standout performance and never misses the mark.

While a few plot points and character arcs could have been more fleshed out, Citadel makes up for it with its stunning action, solid performances, and cinematic flair. Overall, it's an exciting and well-executed show that makes for a binge-worthy watch.

7/10.

One of the most awaited series of 2024 by Raj & DK is finally streaming on Prime Video. Clearly this one beats the previous shows of the Franchise.

The series excels in terms of action sequences and twists in the storyline. The show consists of 6eps, for which this doesn't seem to be boring. This series has its drawbacks but still it's worth watching. There wasn't a need for ending it in a cliffhanger for S2 which could've been avoided. This has the same vibe of every other works of Raj & DK but somehow things looked scratchy in between. I mean look at their previous works, be it Farzi, Family Man or Guns & Gulaabs each time they proved their worth with their creativity and engaging plot but this time things didn't go too well which ended up being a one time watch. Varun, Samantha and Kay Kay Menon sir were good in their respective roles.

Overall a decent series to binge-watch this weekend which would take nearly 4-5hrs.

3/5.