Michael Fassbender is the perfect spy in a riveting thriller series from Paramount+

The Agency
is based on a French TV series, Le Bureau des Legendes. The original show ran for five seasons, racking up several awards along the way, meaning Michael Fassbender could be in for a long haul if the English-language adaptation achieves similar success in its first season. The Agency follows Fassbender’s “Martian,” an undercover CIA agent who is called back to London station after spending years on a mission. Things spiral out of control when a woman from his past reappears, causing his real identity and secret life to come into conflict as more mysteries begin to form.

I was intrigued by the prospect of seeing Fassbender star in a TV series, as he hadn’t been in one for some time. The Agency It seemed like the perfect way for the actor to return to the small screen, and the show’s first trailer immediately convinced me of its potential, especially after watching the actor in a recent but not very different project. By director David Fincher The AssassinFassbender has shown that he can excel as a man of action in a world of mystery. In The Agencyhe swaps his assassin persona for a spy.

The Agency Presents Classic Espionage Scenarios

The Agency I may not reinvent the wheel, but in the three episodes I watched, the thriller series hits all the right notes for a good spy story. The first is your main character. Unlike how he was a cold-blooded killer in The AssassinFassbender’s Martian is a much more emotional man. That’s not to say he doesn’t present a calm and collected exterior to CIA employees and anyone else he interacts with. However, Marciano’s years of work and events in his personal life certainly take their toll on the character and take him out of the game.

As with any good spy story, the mysteries make up a large part of the story, and the series There are some of them piled up. It’s interesting to see how Marciano slowly begins to discover that things may not be what they seem, even though he’s no longer sure what to believe. The Agency it was filmed in different countries around the world, which is fitting for its extensive story. It does a decent job of creating tension, both in dynamic action scenes and in calmer moments with two or more characters just talking.

From a technical standpoint, the show does a great job. The Agency It has beautiful visuals and its cinematography complements the soundtrack very well to increase the tension of certain moments. Although some stories are more or less predictable, there are more interesting mysteries to offset them. Furthermore, The Agency has a star-studded ensemble that makes much of the exposition – a major issue that plagues the show’s dialogue – work most of the time. Fassbender is always engaging when he’s on screen, but some other stars deserve praise too.

Michael Fassbender leads a talented ensemble

Dramatic performances add to the mysteries

Fassbender is a powerful actor. This is no secret, and the star does a great job of anchoring The Agency. Marciano is always right, whether in more dramatic moments, showing his authority in the series’ world of espionage, in some funny scenes or in more emotional moments, when he reveals the layers of the character. Because he has had to live as someone else for years, Marciano’s past and present come into conflict with one another and a big part of that comes in the form of Jodie Turner-Smith’s Sami Zahir.

Turner-Smith makes Sami a charming and complex character. We get to see flashes of what her time with Marciano was like when he was undercover and this helps inform the character’s reappearance. Zahir is ready for great things in The Agencywith its plot being one of the biggest in the series, and Turner-Smith’s performance in the role packs an emotional punch. As for the other members of Marciano’s CIA division, Jeffrey Wright’s Henry and Richard Gere’s Bosko are the voices of authority. Gere’s character is an officer more faithful to the books, contrasting well with Wright’s, who tends to let his emotions leak.

The rest of the cast is great, with Katherine Waterston’s Naomi and John Magaro’s Owen adding a nice dynamic to the show. Saura Lightfoot-Leon’s Danny shows a lot of promise, both as an agent and as a potential player in the rest of the season’s events. However, after only watching the first three episodes of the season, I feel like she could have done more than she has so far. The Agency sets up a lot of mysteries that could lead to exciting twists, with some already happening, so the first season could end strongly to tease a continuation of the spy series.

The AgencyThe first two episodes will be released on November 29th on Paramount+ with Showtime. The rest of the 10 episodes of season 1 will be released weekly.