Citadel: Honey Bunny REVIEW – Varun Dhawan and Samantha starrer fails to impress despite its high-octane, stylised action

Film:
Citadel: Honey Bunny

Director: Raj & DK

Creator: Russo Brothers

Writer: Sita R. Menon Raj & DK, Sumit Arora

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Mazumdar, Kay Kay Menon, Saqib Salim, Shivankit Singh Parihar & others

Platform: On Prime Video

Runtime: 6 episodes of 50 minutes

Citadel: Honey Bunny Review

Citadel: Honey Bunny is the Indian chapter of Priyanka Chopra’s Citadel. A prequel to the 2023 version starring Chopra and Richard Madden, this chapter stars Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu Nadia’s (Priyanka) parents to Rahi Gambhir aka Agent Bunny and Princess Hanimandakini aka Honey, respectively. The show follows a non-linear narrative take recounts Honey and Bunny’s adventures as agents and the consequences they are facing 8 years later.

The series plays out in two timelines – 1992 and 2000. The early 90s storyline follows the budding romance and adventurous outing of Bollywood stuntman, Bunny and struggling actress Honey. Here, we see how Bunny recruits Honey to join the agency, become a spy and complete missions across the globe. The second storyline is centred on how Honey is bringing up her daughter Nadia while suddenly on the run from Baba’s (KK Menon) men. During this period, Bunny and his ’92 crew get to know that Honey is in fact alive, has a daughter and has been in hiding for nearly a decade now.

Why are Baba’s men after Honey? Why did Honey and Bunny part ways so much that the latter didn’t know he had a kid? Do the family patch up and become one or do the spies fall prey to the traps set up for them? You will need to watch the show to know the answers to these questions and read our review to know if the show is worth a watch.

What Works

The action scenes – especially the one that takes place in Belgrade and the final showdown in Princess Hanimandakini’s childhood home. Another thing that works for the series is the chemistry Honey and Boney share – their romance is on-point as well as their concern for their daughter.

What Doesn’t Work

The non-linear narrative has you jumping between two timelines and it’s not helpful or even effective. The series features characters who are superficial and despite sustaining otherwise life-threatening injuries are up and about fit like a fiddle within 24 hours. The show’s pace too is slow – the first 2 episodes are more a set-up only, and it lacks much emotional dept despite the addition of ‘family’.

Technical Analysis

The action scenes that the directors mount in Belgrade and later in including an exciting chase sequence through the streets of the city, have their moments. They are sadly too few and far between.

Citadel: Honey Bunny Star Performances

The star performer of the series without a doubt is Samantha. The actress beautifully emotes the raw emotions Honey feels as a neglected child, a struggling actress, an amateur agent, a lover and a single mom.

Conclusion

Citadel: Honey Bunny ticks the right boxes when it comes to high-octane, stylised action and chemistry between the leads, however, when it comes to maintaining its pace, the series lags. In fact, it’s not possible to binge-watch all six episodes of this show in one sitting. All in all, the Indian chapter of Citadel fares better than the Priyanka Chopra one but still falls flat when it comes to impressing us with its screenplay.

Watch the trailer of Citadel: Honey Bunny here:

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