Marvel’s Secret Invasion(2023) Review

Secret Invasion is a six-episode series from Marvel Studios, starring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. The series follows Fury as he attempts to protect Earth from the shape-shifting alien species, the Skrulls. The Skrulls plan to take over Earth by stealing the faces of humans and infiltrating their militaries and governments.

The series is inspired by Cold War cinema and espionage movies, but lacks the tension and fear that would make it truly compelling. The Skrulls are introduced in their true forms from the start, and those in disguise are obvious to see, robbing the series of the paranoia that made its comic book namesake such a bombshell.

The underlying stories that power Secret Invasion have promise, with the Skrulls being refugees in search of a home and Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik leading the titular invasion. However, the middle third of the series can’t maintain the ideal tone, and it becomes lost in a variety of generic spy-film plots. Gravik is too thinly written, and his episode-to-episode actions and dialogue lack bite and complexity.

Samuel L. Jackson is undoubtedly Nick Fury, and even episodes where it feels like he’s going through the motions have a little authentic spark to them. He explores a fascinating study on how confronting mortality can shatter one’s sense of purpose, but the plot always takes priority over Fury’s personal struggles. Don Cheadle’s Rhodey and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos are both underutilized, but Olivia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth is wickedly funny and helps balance the series’ darker tone.

Overall, Secret Invasion is an adaptation in name only, and despite offering a fresh angle on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it struggles to evoke the tension and fear its format demands. It is light on superheroes, and without any genuine tension, the series ticks on in a manner that’s frequently muted, and sometimes straight up dull.