REVIEW #306 Secret Invasions (Season 1)

Nicky Fury is back and discovers a secret invasion of earth by a group of shapeshifting Skrulls. Forced to fight from the shadows Fury utilises what allies he has left in an attempt to save humanity and Earth.

Secret Invasion provides a welcomed shift in tone for Marvel and the MCU, incorporating darker themes in this spy thriller themed Disney+ show. Now this is no R rating but there are a few moments which certainly separate it from projects that we have come to expect from Marvel. Samuel L Jackson portrays a more emotionally complex Nick Fury, one who we see is vulnerable and lost after the blip. However upon finding out just how deep the skrulls have infiltrated the world factions, the cause brings him back to the Fury we all love. I do think this show had a lot of potential, I certainly enjoyed it, but waiting a week between each half an hour instalment just made me resent the fact it was a show and not just a feature length film. It’s so hard to get invested when it’s drip fed to you, especially when the episode length is so short. So I do think that the format had a negative impact.

That being said, there’s tons to enjoy here with Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke and Kingsley Ben-Adir joining the marvel universe, creating some of the most powerful creatures yet! Colman’s character was a wonderful surprise, such a bad ass and she done really well with the relatively short screen time. The later two, well they also performed well, however I can’t help but feel like if this show was double the length, we could have gone so much deeper into their characters and it would have been all the better for it. We didn’t need big, expensive set pieces with them, but instead just deep dives into their psyche and their intentions.

On the subject of budgets, I can’t believe this had a $220million budget! When you see something like Oppenheimer made on £100m you have to question when something like Secret invasion has over double that. It’s not even like there is a lot of special effects used, the show itself is pretty grounded. Yes it has a big moment in the finale which was pretty good but other than that, everything is pretty simple. A lot of people are criticising a certain reveal for one character, that will change the way we view previous marvel projects. However I don’t really see the issue with it, it’s not like they really played a vital role in the franchise. 

So all in all, I enjoyed the show! There’s a lot to like and in the same breath, there’s also a lot that could be improved, even if it’s just a format change. Remove 6 episode seasons, it’s not worth it, just make a film! Also don’t promote a future marvel project (The Marvels) using stills including a character from the ongoing show… it completely ruins the stakes and fates for characters. It does seem like I have a lot of criticisms and I guess I do, but the positives make this worth the watch and I liked it for sure. The performances are great, the cinematography really strong and it’s a promising sign that Marvel are willing to shift the tone of its projects! All episodes streaming now on Disney+.

Overall (7/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan