Plot: In this first-ever adaptation of the acclaimed stealth video game franchise Tom Clancy‘s Splinter Cell, legendary agent Sam Fisher is drawn back into the field when a wounded young operative seeks out his help.
Review: It’s been 12 years since the last mainline Splinter Cell game, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and fans are more than ready to complete another mission with Sam Fisher, a retired, highly decorated Navy SEAL and former CIA paramilitary ops/clandestine officer. If you asked me how Sam would return to the public consciousness after so many years, a slick-looking, hyper-violent, animated spy thriller from John Wick creator Derek Kolstad would not have been my answer. However, after going dark to binge all eight episodes of Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, I can’t think of a better way to get reacquainted with our old friend.
Before we get into the details, I want to assure you that Splinter Cell: Deathwatch has the juice. While Kolstad’s plot feels vaguely familiar, the story is a well-constructed slow burn with knock-out action scenes to break the quiet tension. Co-directors Guillaume Dousse and Félicien Colmet-Daage present the world of Splinter Cell exactly as you’d expect: with slickness, grandiosity, and drenched in shadow. While appropriate, some of the darkly-lit scenes are difficult to perceive, though perhaps that’s by design. Either way, I found myself leaning into my screen on occasion to decipher who and what I was looking at. Maybe it’s time to make an appointment with my eye doctor.
Splinter Cell: Deathwatch finds Sam Fisher, voiced hauntingly by Liev Schreiber, teaming up with Zinnia McKenna (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), a fellow spy whose ex holds the key to stopping an oncoming crisis in the war for energy and power. Howell-Baptiste plays Zinnia like a scorned soldier out for revenge. Almost every word from Zinnia’s lips becomes coated with venom as she speaks about the injustices she’s endured and the severity of the mission. Her partnership with Sam is a highlight of the series, as soldiers old and new learn from each other and adjust to the times.
Those hoping for a fair amount of violence will not be disappointed, as there’s more than enough John Wick-like action peppered throughout the experience. Much like Kolstad’s live-action work, Deathwatch is chock full of clever gunplay, frenzied fisticuffs, and precision strikes lashing out at lightning speed. At several points while watching Deathwatch, I audibly commented on the animation, taking note of the fluidity of the body movements created by Sun Creature and Fost. The articulation of the limbs is nothing short of incredible, choosing realistic movements rather than hyper-stylized cartoon action. When a bullet lands, you can feel the zip of its trajectory and collision against blood and bone. When a knife nearly opens someone’s abdomen, I winced. To put it simply, the action is incredibly visceral, and I think people will enjoy it.
While the overarching plot is solid, I would have appreciated more time with the primary villains, Diana and her half-brother, Charlie. Diana is power hungry and manipulative, with visions of revenge for her father’s death dancing in her head. She’s intelligent, cunning, and quite the actress, but she underestimates Charlie’s part in her elaborate scheme. Meanwhile, Charlie is more like his half-sister than they’d care to admit, but with one significant difference: Charlie wants to watch the world burn before he’ll do anything to help fix it. The duo’s motivations are familiar to anyone intimate with power-hungry villains, which left me wanting more from their familial squabblings and inflated sense of purpose.
Overall, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is a quick and stylish injection of espionage and engaging action for fans of the genre. Even if aspects of the story feel uninspired at times, Kolstad assembles a great cast of characters to carry out the mission while keeping you entertained. Keep your ears open for some cherry needle drops throughout the series, and consider putting the kids to bed before diving into this action-packed slow burner.
Source:
JoBlo.com