Citadel Honey Bunny – Predictable
Genre – Spy + Action
Time: 6 episodes x average 50 minutes each
Platform: Amazon Prime
Let’s start with some disclaimers.
First: I haven’t seen the ‘other’ Citadel series due to which I miss/am unaware of the connection between ‘those’ and the constant references to Citadel ‘here’. The others – from some online research- is Citadel which reportedly cost 300 million dollars and Citadel Diana. I suppose this “Citadel Verse” will be similar to this one – full of hyper “action” , slickly made and with a wafer thin story line.
Second disclaimer: as a thumb rule, I dislike TV serials as it forces me to watch them to know “what happened next” till you reach its final conclusion, thus tying you and your precious viewing time to one ‘universe’. Which is why I prefer movies to TV Serials. In this case I binge watched this series overnight as I wanted to complete it and lets face it ; its only six episodes and not that long unlike some that go into 8 or more episodes (some Korean TV serials are waiting on my TBS – To Be Seen – pile as they are 13 + episodes ).
Third disclaimer: From the trailers, it was clear that this was going to be yet another “action-adventure-spy drama” that seems to be the rule across the world these days. Something that could have probably fit a 2 hour movie far better. This is an excuse for some incredible “action” – meaning heavy duty violence with head shots, knife cuts, knives inside heads and severing jugular vein, and so on. Surprises you what all can be passed off under “action”
Considering all these personal views/ prejudices/biases, I found Honey and Bunny was still watchable. Make no mistake. There will be many who will enjoy it very much. It’s just that – for me – it was predictable (couple of times I missed about 5 minutes due to some phone calls and when I came back I could pick up the story).
This particular sub-genre in spy films is predictable : the past is never dead and is coming back to haunt you, in your present innocent life. (We have seen that in The Old Man earlier). So the story flits back between 1992 and 2000 – do not ask me the significance of those years; I simply don’t know 😊 – as we watch Bunny, the day time film stuntman enroll small time actress Honey, into a side job, doing black ops for an unknown agency headed by a mysterious chap named Baba. Baba objects to Honey’s presence and use as he feels women will disrupt his all-male organisation of black operatives who are out to get a wonder gadget code name Armada. Whoever owns Armada owns the world. Or so says Baba. Except that the person who is developing it Dr. Raghu Rao has other intentions as a force for good. Honey, sent to get close to Rao, gets to know him and soon feels that Rao is a straight man and perhaps the team is doing the wrong thing.
In the present ,that is 2000, Honey and her daughter are being chased by some thugs and she has to escape them consistently. Bunny also comes to know this and comes back to India to trace her.
So the past and the present inter-mesh and we are soon presented with the not-so-surprising view that the good is bad and the bad is good and -oh well. You get it.
The writers Raaj and DK, are famous for doing The Family Man series and some of that has rubbed off here, with the constant emphasis on “Family” as Bunny and his team are all orphans, hand picked by Baba to serve as his “family”. Or perhaps it’s a subconscious advertisement for writer-duos’ The Family Man Season 3 coming up in 2025?. You decide😊
Performances are nothing much to write about. Varun Dhawan as Bunny seems to be going out of the way to get away from his ‘chocolate hero’ reputation by doing all the hyper stunts and fights. So too with Samantha as Honey. Kay Kay Menon is increasingly stereotyping himself – we can predict when his soft whisper will suddenly become a diatribe and carpet chewing rant, complete with expletives (the English translations are ‘clean’ 🙂 ). Oh yes – the serial has the usual disclaimers about violence, mature themes, violence , foul language, vio…. you get it . Its very violent 🙂
The James Bond/MI/Bourne feeling is increased by the ‘exotic foreign locations’ like Bucharest, Belgrade, Nainital and so on. As with most such ‘action movies’, the “agents” wear black clothing, wear dark shades, drive huge dark SUVs with dark windows, are armed to the teeth and indulge in incredible chases and stunts in mostly deserted streets of cities, including Bombay. Amazing. Even the streets of Bombay (1992) are deserted in the initial scenes.
If you want some entertainment that doesn’t tax your brains and yet you feel that ‘oh well that wasn’t bad’, then this one is for you. Clearly the writers have deliberately ended the Series on an ambiguous note, hoping for a Season 2 . Let’s see.
Watch if you must and but don’t complain later. You really dont need to be an Albert Einstein to figure out the series .
Script – 3 out of 5
Story – 3 out of 5
Direction – 4 out of 5
Photography – 4 out of 5
Total – 3.5 out of 5