Citadel: Honey Bunny Review: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Varun Dhawan’s Dynamic Action Duo Needed A Better Plot!
Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan starrer Citadel: Honey Bunny is streaming on Prime Video. Here's our review!
3 / 5
The Russo Brothers Citadel is growing and finally, the Indian spin-off of the series directed by Raj And DK is here. Titled Citadel: Honey Bunny, the six-episode series stars Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kay Kay Menon, Sikander Kher and Saqib Saleem among others. Well, for the unversed, Citadel: Honey Bunny is a prequel to the original series starring Priyanka Chopra. The Raj And DK series is spiced up with some enthralling action sequences packaged with drama and a pinch of romance. Here’s a detailed review of what we liked and what the series desperately needed. Read on!
Plot
Citadel: Honey Bunny is the story of two agents Rahi AKA Bunny (Varun Dhawan) and Honey (Samantha Ruth Prabhu). Honey is a struggling actor in Mumbai who comes with a depressing past. Bunny is a stuntman and an agent who works for Vishwa or Baba (Kay Kay Menon). With no income whatsoever and a difficult life in Mumbai, Honey also decides to become one of his agents. Bunny trains her before their big mission which is to obtain a machine called Armada. The possession of this gadget can give the owner the supreme power to track big-shot global leaders and use the information against them. Vishwa wants it anyhow and Bunny is his best agent!
Citadel: Honey Bunny’s storytelling keeps switching between the past (1992) and the present (2000). In the present, Honey has a sweet, brave and bold daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar) who only gets to finally meet her father towards the end of the series. Sikander Kher is an agent at Citadel, headed by Zooni (Simran Bagga) and their mission is to take down Vishwa. Saqib Saleem also joins the series midway as one of the agents under Vishwa. The series eventually becomes a fight for Honey and Bunny to save their little family against the bad men, as Nadia calls them!
What Is Enjoyable!
The action sequences! Raj and DK have outdone themselves with the thrilling and smooth action sequences, each becoming the series’ main highlight. I would not stop talking about it without mentioning a few of them that deserve our attention and applause. Here are a couple of scenes that will remain rent-free in my mind: the action sequence shot in a car was pulled off effortlessly by Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Another sequence that stands out in the series is the one at the end where Samantha and Varun’s electrifying action duo take down the bad men with sass and swag! The long shots used for the action sequences kept me engaged and hooked.
Performances
Varun Dhawan has proven his niche as a good action hero, and in Citadel: Honey Bunny, he levels that up. He is charming and energetic as the agent Bunny yet is equally convincing in the vulnerable moments with Honey. Varun Dhawan’s efforts to refrain from making his character too dramatic or caricaturist make Bunny’s emotions look very organic during the series.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu is neck and neck with Varun Dhawan as she aces action sequences like a badass queen! Well, I would take the liberty to say that she had more thrilling action sequences in the series. Samantha nails every frame and angle of the various action scenes, whether it is a wounded Honey fighting two men inside a car or several of them with guns and bare hands! However, Samantha’s performance seemed a little less impressive when she was not fighting the bad men. There were moments where the actor’s intensity and energy as Honey took a hit leaving me detached from the character’s emotions.
Kay Kay Menon is flawless as Vishwa. His character is intimidating and evil on the inside but very calm and composed on the outside. This nuanced nature of Vishwa was delivered by Kay Kay Menon with finesse. However, the writing could’ve been better!
Kashvi Majmundar as the young Nadia is a delight to watch. Throughout the series, the actor has not missed a single moment of holding on to her character’s adorable nature that swung from being brave to becoming the little child who just wants to live a happy life with her mom and dad.
Sikander Kher has also done a phenomenal job as the Citadel agent, but there is nothing remarkable about his character!
Storytelling
Citadel: Honey Bunny’s story is evenly spread across six episodes, and each one of them builds the narrative with the same level of intensity. The constant jump between the past and present kept the suspense intact. It’s one of the many reasons why Citadel: Honey Bunny’s average or rather underwhelming plot becomes a little more bearable.
What’s Missing
A Good Plot!
Well, the Raj and DK series craved for a stronger and unique plot. The story that revolved around Vishwa’s mission to obtain the Armada by making strong agents out of orphans seemed to be quite dramatic and simply a product of lazy, superficial writing. The story is certainly not the strongest point of Citadel: Honey Bunny! Unlike other Raj and DK shows, Citadel: Honey Bunny does not have comic moments as one would want to see. The series does not end up becoming a memorable watch because the plot is neither creative nor it has anything new to offer. The same old “return to protect my family” trope is yet again used to evoke emotions but it does not work, at all!
Lacks Emotions
My sympathies are only for the young Nadia because while she clearly understands her mother’s situation and is always on her toes to escape the bad men, the little girl in her only craves a happy ending. Every other character’s emotional engagement with each other lasts for a brief second and is forgotten the next minute. While the chemistry between Varun and Samatha during the action scenes is absolutely spot on, their romance or the clash fails to make any mark. Blame the writing again!
Citadel: Honey Bunny is most likely to have a second part because the series leaves us with a cliffhanger.
Raj and DK have given us an action series that is crisp, loaded with well-shot fight scenes and a banger action duo. Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu have given their blood and sweat to the series which is evident in their performances. The other stars in the series have also done a good job. However, the series would have been even more engaging with a strong plot and more well-written characters, because I can hardly think of any while writing this. Citadel: Honey Bunny premieres on Prime Video on November 7.
BTW, there is also an Italian spin-off titled Citadel: Diana and it revolves around the story of another Citadel agent named Matilda. It has received better reviews than the original series!
First Published: November 07, 2024 12:35 AM
