Secret Invasion

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.