Honey Bunny is extra of a love story than a sequence about spycraft. It may be described as a sequence about parenting. Honey does an exquisite job of elevating her daughter single-handedly. Nadia is fearless, identical to her namesake—the well-known Fearless Nadia of ’30s stunt movies. She’s fluent in three languages, well-versed in karate, and calm and managed in conditions that may give an grownup a headache. Kashvi Majumdar, portraying Nadia, provides a layer of credibility to the sequence. In contrast to many little one actors who can appear unconvincing when requested to play characters past their years, Kashvi brings a maturity and attraction to Nadia that feels totally pure. Her portrayal of the character’s confidence, particularly as she steadily learns concerning the advanced world her mother and father inhabit, is effortlessly convincing. Her scenes with Samantha Ruth Prabhu are a pleasure to observe, and we want there have been extra moments of Kashvi and Varun Dhawan collectively—sadly, these happen solely within the sixth and last episode of season one. As talked about earlier, it is a love story framed inside the ever-shifting dynamics of the spy world. The romance between Honey and Bunny, which ought to have served because the emotional anchor for the sequence, is, sadly, underdeveloped. The dearth of depth of their relationship makes it tough to care about their struggles on a deeper stage.
Baba (Kay Kay Menon) performs mentor to each Bunny and KD (Saqib Saleem) in addition to different orphaned youngsters. He runs a semi-military organisation with a world attain—although it’s unclear who’s funding him or what his motivations are. Till a sure level within the sequence, we aren’t positive of its morals. Then there’s one other organisation, run by Zooni (Simran), which supposedly counters their strikes. Nevertheless, the thriller quickly fizzles out on account of an over-reliance on drained spy tropes, making every part really feel achingly predictable. Significantly better writing was anticipated from Raj, DK, and their staff, who have been so profitable with The Household Man—an identical product the place an agent tries to stay a traditional life when not searching criminals. And what’s with the low lighting, which neither does justice to the proceedings nor to the handsome solid? Fortunately, the motion is top-class. It is likely to be higher to observe it at 2x pace after which sluggish it all the way down to regular throughout the motion scenes. The sequence the place Bunny and a colleague decimate a whole military unit is slick as hell, Honey’s one-on-one fights are choreographed effectively, and the climax, the place Honey and Bunny face off in opposition to wave after wave of enemy troopers, is the actual spotlight of the sequence.
Whereas the plot fails to inject something notably contemporary or thrilling into the spy style, the actors reach making the story watchable. Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan ship compelling performances, displaying nice chemistry that helps carry the present by way of its extra uninspired moments. Samantha, specifically, brings each vulnerability and power to her position as Honey, whereas Varun navigates the character of Bunny with an emotional undercurrent. Kay Kay Menon delivers a standout efficiency because the antagonist. Recognized for his skill to convey nuance to advanced characters, his portrayal right here is not any totally different. His efficiency is likely one of the few elements of the sequence that feels fastidiously crafted. Saqib Saleem comes into his personal within the final episode, whereas Sikander Kher makes his presence felt as the nice soldier. Simran, sadly, is vastly underutilised.
Finally, Citadel: Honey Bunny looks like a missed alternative. Regardless of the potential for an thrilling and unique addition to the Citadel franchise, the sequence will get slowed down by drained spy tropes and an absence of an modern narrative. The solid does its greatest to raise the fabric, but it surely’s onerous to beat a script that by no means fairly rises to the event. The nonlinear storytelling doesn’t assist both. Watch it for its creatively shot motion sequences and for the chemistry between Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan, in addition to the performances from Kashvi and Kay Kay. The sequence is at present streaming on Amazon Prime.
