Secret Invasion

In the wake of CGI-saturated, cosmic movies like Ant-Man 3 and Guardians 3, Disney+’s Secret Invasion is a welcome blast of serious, grounded MCU fare.

Based on what I’ve seen of Secret Invasion at the time of writing this review, it’s a stylish thriller perfect for fans of Marvel’s spy stories.

Points to Secret Invasion for not just offering an explanation, but showing that this particular story doesn’t need any superheroes to keep us intrigued.

This latest Disney+ series showcases the best writing and performances in a Marvel project since “WandaVision.”

For now, “Secret Invasion” looks very much like its own beast, a genuine serial story within the lumbering Marvel apparatus.

The series isn't perfect - there are moments that are a little slow going in the first episodes as we head into the heart of the series. But if Secret Invasion continues the dynamic it's built from its beginning, we could be looking at another spectacular series right when Marvel needs it most.

As one of the MCU’s most mature projects to date, Secret Invasion is a riveting, tense drama that gifts its actors with weighty material and encourages its audience to look beyond the sheen of superheroism.

Marvel buffs will be able to collect their fair share of Easter eggs, but this one can be enjoyed by a PG-13-suitable crowd that prefers action (this one is pretty violent, though) with a relatable plot that doesn’t require you to watch all in the MCU canon to understand what is going on. In supporting roles, Kingsley Ben-Adir stands out in this promising leap forward for Phase 5 of the MCU.

Even though it has some glaring flaws, Secret Invasion has plenty of potential for a rather ironic reason: the Skrulls.

Secret Invasion is a welcome and solid return for the MCU’s lesser-used gritty espionage template, even if its first two episodes lack the sense of fear that it really needs.

Ultimately, Secret Invasion is distinguished primarily by creating a more expansive showcase for Jackson’s fast and Fury-ous side, meaning the series rises and falls on the simple pleasure of seeing him moved front and center – one of the bonuses of having brought an actor of his stature into the Marvel fold.

Marked by lethargic performances, flat combat and great gobs of exposition, it comes across as an exercise in genre regurgitation—and far from the spark that will recharge Marvel’s battery.

Only two episodes were available for review, so it’s possible that there are far more and better-paced twists and turns to come in the second two-thirds than there were in the first. But it’s been a hell of a lot of throat-clearing if so. For the first time, I wished for more from the MCU.

It’s a decent beginning to who knows what. Like spies on a stakeout, we will wait and see.

There’s still time and episodes left to salvage the series, but for those who were excited for the MCU return to a shadowy and clandestine milieu, “Secret Invasion” disappoints with familiar, rote, and enervating tenor nowhere near as involving as its collusions would suggest.

“Secret Invasion” carries a strong sense of business being done, of items being checked off a list, of a product line being tended to, rather than of an original story being told.

Secret Invasion has a fascinating concept and some truly incredible performances for an MCU joint, but its writing and direction both fall a little flat. It’s the kind of serious show that Marvel fans were thirsting for five years ago, but now might cause some viewers to nod off.

A tremendous cast, led by Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Olivia Colman and Don Cheadle, keeps things generally watchable and, when they’re given the opportunity to interact, you can spot the best version of the show. But for the most part, Secret Invasion is more dour and even dull than one might expect from its John le Carré/Graham Greene trappings.

To say the first two episodes are suspense-free wouldn’t be entirely fair. The premiere’s climax works well enough, and the hourlong entries move along without the obvious bloat of past MCU TV shows. Still, “Secret Invasion” proves as tepid as it is inert.

Jackson is best when he's quipping alongside Mendelsohn, but besides that, he appears to be done with Nick Fury. The other performances are lacking as well, with dull dialogue being uttered by tired faces, but Olivia Colman saves "Secret Invasion" from being a complete slog.

Beyond Fury, you’d struggle to remember any of the characters at gunpoint. It’s toothless and disposable – a shrug of a drama. Worse still is the show’s unremarkable direction, uninspired cinematography and drab production design.

In its first two episodes, the action moves from murky and hard to follow to dull (and hard to follow). Worse yet, it looks cheap.