Citadel: Honey Bunny Review – Prime Video’s Second Citadel Spinoff Is a Disappointing Snooze-fest

Amazon MGM Studios’ Citadel spy universe began with Citadel in 2023, kicking off an expensive global multi-series storytelling event. Even with mixed reviews, the studio invested in creator David Weil’s vision of telling interconnected stories about a crumbling spy agency. The first spin-off was Citadel: Diana – the second is Citadel: Honey Bunny.
Former secret agent Diana Vavalieri’s journey behind enemy lines in Italy with the help of the heir of the Citadel’s competing villain, Manticore. Received better reviews than Citadelit seemed like the spinoffs could be the positive juggernaut we needed.

Citadel: Honey Bunny follows a similar narrative pattern, only this time it takes us to India to expand the scope of this world of espionage. Produced by the Russo brothers, the series explores the early days of the Citadel. Telling the story of a young Nadia’s parents, the prequel follows aspiring actress Honey (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) and movie stuntman Bunny (Varun Dhawan) as they navigate the world of violence. When the ghosts of the past return with a vengeance, they must do everything they can to protect their daughter.

Citadel: Honey Bunny is disappointing thanks to its reliance on old tropes

With a standard chart like this, you can think of honey bunny as a love story of sorts as our central characters navigate the shifting dynamics of the world of espionage. That assumption wouldn’t be too far off. And with the momentum built from Citadel: Dianathere were plenty of reasons to be excited about the franchise’s latest spinoff. Unfortunately, CitadelThe prequel series is anything but exciting, creative, and daring. honey bunny It relies heavily on old tricks with a bland script that doesn’t seem to offer anything refreshing.

This is in no way the main actors’ fault. Rabhu and Dhawan have good chemistry and deliver what they need to make the series watchable. Where I find fault with the series is its reliance on standard spy tropes. We have the typical motivations of villains, uninteresting stories for our protagonists and even a love story that tends to fail before it apparently begins. Structurally, the flashbacks and non-linear narrative don’t do the plot justice. honey bunny It’s disappointing because of those things, but mostly because it had great potential.

The Citadel lacks cultural influence and impact: Honey Bunny

Somewhere here there is a decent Citadel derived series. But what I can’t understand is the timid influence of Indian culture on the narrative. Sometimes the dialogue switches between English and Hindi, but that’s just the extent of any cultural impact. This was one of the main potential components that I was excited about. However, I never truly felt that I had a rich experience with Indian culture. Furthermore, and frustratingly, the lighting does not favor or benefit the cast in any way.

It’s never a good feeling to leave extremely disappointed after watching a TV series that originally aroused great interest and enthusiasm. But that’s where I am Citadel: Honey Bunny. Ultimately, it relies too much on familiar tropes and storytelling, limiting itself creatively and lacking any genuine enthusiasm. Although the cast members do everything they can to elevate this standard script beyond its banality, limitations in culture and narrative structure prevent the series from leaving a lasting impression. Whatever the next spin-off is, I hope the producers lean more on creativity than formula.

Citadel: Honey Bunny It consists of six episodes and premieres on Prime Video on November 7th.