The Agency Just Dropped on Paramount+: Is the Michael Fassbender Show Any Good?
It is not the most original and exciting espionage show.
The Agency was rightly considered one of the most interesting new series of the fall. The project has an impressive production team led by George Clooney. Star Michael Fassbender was also involved in the development of the show.
What Is The Agency About?
A CIA agent codenamed Martian lived in Ethiopia for six years under another name. The spy even began a long-term affair with the married Sami.
When Martian's mission is over, the agent returns to London and tries to return to his clerical job at the CIA. One evening, the spy runs into Sami and spends the night with her. It turns out that old love is not so easy to forget. Of course, such contacts are strictly forbidden.
The Agency's Storyline Is Confusing and Overloaded
The Agency features a jagged and confusing narrative. The screenwriters briefly suggest that Martian is an excellent and knowledgeable professional, and also show several CIA operatives in Eastern Europe.
Everyone is terribly tense, so the audience should understand how high the stakes are in the international espionage game. But it is impossible to find out what exactly is happening and what all the fuss is about.
The Most Interesting Storyline Is Not the Main One
Another storyline – the rookie Danny is being prepared for her first big case, the agent has to go to Tehran, but first she has to find a way to get there.
Perhaps the most interesting thing in the first two episodes is to follow the loss of personality of the spies. Both the experienced Martian and Danny, who is just learning the intricacies of the job, have to forget the past, put their feelings aside and become someone else in order to do their job well.
The Agency Looks Outdated & Is Full of Genre Clichés
The series dilutes the conversations with action only at the end of the second episode. Fans of the Bond franchise and Mission: Impossible can safely skip the show with Fassbender – the stakes are clearly not made for chases and shootouts. The Day of the Jackal, released three weeks earlier, looks much more exciting.
The writers are in no hurry to develop events, and the intrigue may well gain momentum, but the first two episodes look frankly bland. Fans of spy thrillers will not see anything new.
The conflict between personal and professional life seems secondary. Movies and TV series have long taught viewers that neither assassins nor spies can afford love. A loved one is always a weakness, a way to get to the agent.
We don't know anything about Sami yet, but it's certainly no coincidence that she ended up at the same time and place as Martian. So far, the main conflict is just taking shape. Unfortunately, the creators of The Agency do not go beyond the genre clichés yet.