Secret Invasion Review: An Uneven MCU Spy Thriller

Secret Invasion Is Marvel’s Uneven Answer to Andor

Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

This is not only a line from the Meghan Trainor song “Bad For Me,” but good advice for anyone, particularly if you’re in the spy game like Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). So when Fury makes a promise to the Skrulls, a powerful alien race of green skinned shapeshifters, he better follow through.

“You keep your word. I’ll keep mine,” Fury says to the first group of Skrulls to arrive on Earth in 1997. They promise to help protect the planet in exchange for a new home world. Unfortunately, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the founder of the Avengers can’t make good on his vow, leading the alien refugees to eventually come up with a new plan: world domination.

Equal parts spy drama and gritty sci-fi thriller, Secret Invasion retains its engaging MCU DNA (cool set pieces, big name actors, plot twists), but adds some welcome darker elements. But while this new series has a clear Andor influence, it won’t be rhapsodized like its predecessor due a classic MCU trait that has turned into a trope: continuity. In this case, episodic continuity. This issue is perfectly exemplified in the first two episodes of the season.

Secret Invasion primarily takes place in the present, and the pilot starts simply enough. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent tells former CIA operative Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) about an imminent and massive Skrull conspiracy to take over the world. The Skrulls are angry for being abandoned, Nick Fury is nowhere to be found to help them, and because they’re shapeshifters, you can’t determine who’s a Skrull and who isn’t. Are you a Skrull? Am I a Skrull? I’m not telling.

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We soon learn that a renegade faction of Skrulls, led by a man named Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), have decided that, since humans are intent on self-destruction, they’ll help speed up the process. A terrorist attack planned by the Skrulls pits the United States against Russia, and with some perfectly placed allies, a world war appears to be brewing.

There’s a surprising death at the end of Episode 1, a surprising plot twist at the end of Episode 2, big explosions, shape shifting shenanigans (say that three times fast), an Oscar winner cutting off a guy’s finger with a pair of gardening shears, and some first-rate acting. Sounds like a winner, right? Yes and no.

There are multiple individual scenes in Secret Invasion that are riveting. MI6 agent Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman) interrogating a captured Skrull is both creepy and hilarious. Gravik proves to be a menacing and ruthless villain when he meets with a group of other Skrull leaders. Seeing them bend to his will is impressive. And a restaurant scene between Rhodey (Don Cheadle) and Fury reminded me of a more humorous version of the diner scene in Heat between Al Pacino and Robert Dinero. Two great actors going toe-to-toe is just flat out fun to watch.

Secret Invasion also features several stellar performances. Ben Mendelsohn, who at times channels his inner Liam Neeson from Taken, radiates every time he’s onscreen as Talos. His relationship with his daughter, G’iah, is a highlight of the series thanks to Emilia Clarke’s strong portrayal of a woman torn between the love of her family and her people. And Samuel L. Jackson remains a bad man in a good way. He may be playing an older version of Nick Fury, but the old spy still has plenty of tricks up his sleeves, and will break your arm if you cross him.

While Secret Invasion has so many individual pieces that work, they don’t quite fit together, at least not after two episodes. Watching the premiere with my wife left her confused and made me feel like I started watching a spy movie halfway through the film. An important death that happens off-camera, Fury’s multi-year absence, and the S.A.B.E.R. Space Station where Fury’s been hiding out for years are all poorly explained. Jackson spends most of the episode jumping from one conversation to another, where he’s told three (3!) different times that he’s not the man he used to be since the Blip. Ouch.

The second episode has a smoother pace and better flow while ramping up the intrigue. However, because it begins with so much exposition, it almost feels like it should have been the first episode instead of the second. When looking at the first two episodes in totality, they feel like a mishmash of good ideas, but put together in the wrong order. It’s a disorienting way to start a series, and saps Secret Invasion of what made Andor so addictive. We cared about Cassian Andor from the jump. We felt his desperation, frustration, determination, and rage. The same can’t be said for Nick Fury.

Even though it has some glaring flaws, Secret Invasion has plenty of potential for a rather ironic reason: the Skrulls. While protagonist Nick Fury’s storyline was disjointed to start, the bad guys in this series give it a true north. The Skrulls’ motives are clear, their storyline is easily explained, and their ability to shapeshift gives the series its spy vibe. If Secret Invasion proves to be a success, it looks like it’ll take a green skinned alien to do it.

Terry Terrones is a Television Critics Association and Critics Choice Association member, licensed drone pilot, and aspiring hand model. When he’s not wondering if his family are all Skrulls, you can find him hiking in the mountains of Colorado. You can follow him on Twitter @terryterrones.

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Secret Invasion Is Marvel’s Uneven Answer to Andor