Netflix's Splinter Cell: Deathwatch Review: Not the Sam Fisher Return We Expected

In 2017, Netflix released a live-action adaptation of Castlevania. The 18+ rated animated series received high marks from viewers and journalists. The company continues its successful formula and launched successful franchises like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane: League of Legends.

This year, the streaming service released the first season of the animated series Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, based on Ubisoft's iconic spy game series. Unfortunately, the project doesn't quite rank alongside the aforementioned hits. In this article, we'll explain why.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell was released back in 2002. Its success allowed Ubisoft to launch a series that currently consists of seven main games (including two different versions of Double Agent). These hardcore third-person stealth shooters are beloved by players for their tactical elements, political thriller atmosphere, and charismatic protagonist.

Sam Fisher is an operative for Third Echelon, a US government agency that specializes in eliminating international terrorists. Sam typically works alone, coordinated by Colonel Irving Lambert and Chief of Technology Support Anna Grimsdottir. Since the missions take place deep behind enemy lines, Sam is forced to hide in the shadows and silently eliminate enemies standing in his way.

Splinter Cell's gameplay is based on a hardcore stealth system, which emphasizes leisurely progression and careful planning of every action. Sam remained undetected thanks to a variety of gadgets, including trifocals, a fiber-optic camera, a taser, and sleeping gas grenades.

However, most of these devices are useless in open combat. Once discovered, Sam had no way to effectively fight back against his enemies, who in turn eliminated the agent with a couple of hits.

Over the course of the first four installments, Ubisoft refined these gameplay aspects without altering the foundation laid by the original. However, development difficulties with Conviction led to a major overhaul, significantly simplifying all stealth mechanics and shifting the gameplay emphasis toward action. This approach has been met with mixed reactions from players. However, each mainline entry in the Splinter Cell series is worthy of attention, so if you decide to check it out, you can safely start from the very beginning.

Rumors about a Splinter Cell film adaptation began circulating in the early 2000s. However, more concrete plans for the film weren't announced until 2011. New Regency had been preparing for its production for several years. At the time, it was assumed that Doug Liman, who directed the spy thriller The Bourne Identity, would take the director's chair, and Tom Hardy would play the role of Sam Fisher.

This project had been in development for over ten years. Several script versions were written, and the director changed. Finally, in 2024, the producers announced the project's cancellation due to budget issues.

Netflix, meanwhile, decided to take a different approach and launch a relatively inexpensive animated series.

The series continues the story of Displace International, a corporation founded by Douglas Shetland, Sam's longtime friend and the main villain of the third game. The company was inherited by his children: the strong and independent businesswoman Diana and the typical zoomer Charlie.

Under Diana's leadership, Displace International has transformed itself from a private military company into an ESG company and is launching a large-scale renewable energy project. But this plan has a dark side, which will become clearer as the season finale approaches.

Displace International is staffed by seasoned mercenaries who protect Diana's interests. They are led by Reza "Gunter" Karimi and Freya Niemeyer. Gunter is a cold-blooded killer and master torturer, as well as Freya's mentor. However, he plays only a minor role in the villainous arena, unlike his protégé. It is Freya who will confront the protagonists at most key moments.

Unfortunately, there's not much to say about these characters. The villains are too boring, banal, and poorly developed, which is undoubtedly one of the main plot flaws.

The series opens with an action scene featuring an agent quietly eliminating enemies. His face is hidden by a mask, but his gear is recognizable as his signature trifocal night vision goggles. This is Fourth Echelon operative Zinnia McKenna.

Undetected, she sneaks into the interrogation room and discovers the body of a fellow soldier unfortunate enough to be captured. The rescue mission turns into a mission to retrieve valuable data.

McKenna is forced to extract a tooth containing encrypted information from a dead agent with whom she had a personal relationship. Emotions take over, and she risks ruining the mission by engaging in open confrontation with the terrorists. As a result, she is seriously wounded.

This plot premise is incredibly difficult to believe. The very idea that an operative so vulnerable to emotion would be entrusted with a mission directly related to something that triggers an emotional outburst is illogical. McKenna is presented as the series' lead, but she's completely unsuited to the role. Her actions are illogical, and she often feels like an unnecessary character.

The operation is led by the new head of Fourth Echelon, Jo Ahn, and Anna "Grim" Grímsdóttir, a familiar face from the game universe, and is assisted by the Native American hacker Thunder.

To obtain the data and save the wounded McKenna, Anna directs her to Sam Fisher.

The legendary agent is no longer young, but it turns out he's the only one who can help in this situation. Sam saves McKenna and calmly deals with the enemies who were on her trail and came to his house.

Fisher is the only main character whose appearance is unquestionable. In some scenes, he even resembles Sean Connery as the elderly British spy Mason in The Rock.

The voice acting deserves special mention. In all games except Blacklist, Sam was voiced by Canadian actor Michael Ironside, which was a key component of his powerful charisma. In the series, the character was voiced by Australian actor Liev Schreiber. Although his voice lacked the fatigue characteristic of the original character, he managed to create a similar image.

But despite the excellent voice acting, the difference between Sam in the game universe and his Netflix incarnation is quite noticeable. The fact is, the character has completely lost his sense of humor. And yet, it's an integral part of his charismatic persona.

The original Sam was characterized by a sense of self-irony. His well-timed sarcastic remarks always lightened the game's serious and somber tone. However, the old Agent Fisher seems to have lost all his wit over the years.

Overall, the characters are absolutely worthless. They're incredibly believable, making it impossible to empathize with them. The only saving grace for Sam and Grim is their rich backgrounds in the game series, crafted by the talented writers at Ubisoft (there was a time...).

Firstly, John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad only wrote three of the eight episodes (the first, seventh, and final). Secondly, the cult following of the film about the Belarusian killer is more likely due to the fantastically staged action scenes coupled with the charisma of Keanu Reeves. The script is secondary.

Let's return to Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. The action scenes are indeed directed with reference to the aforementioned blockbuster, but with the caveat that this is a low-budget animated series. The less-than-stellar animation is compensated for by good sound, appropriate camera angles, and the overall brutality of the action. However, at times, the lack of attention to detail is glaring.

For example, in one scene, Sam starts a shootout with more "bad guys" (not just guys, there's always a girl among them). The two are standing in a small room in a cramped hallway. One of them holds a pistol without a silencer just a few dozen centimeters from the other's ear, yet manages to fire without stunning his colleague. And there are too many such illogical moments, which doesn't help the series, which has plenty of action scenes.

However, the series' runtime isn't all about shootouts and chases. The main plot follows Sam and McKenna as they attempt to thwart Diana Shetland's evil plans. The story also returns to the events of Chaos Theory, which depicted her father's betrayal.

Sam periodically relapses into flashbacks, experiencing guilt over killing Douglas. And this drama feels very forced, especially considering the scene from the game in which Fisher pulls the trigger without hesitation, knowing he did the right thing.

The other characters' story arcs also lacked drama. As mentioned above, they're impossible to empathize with. Instead of a spy thriller, Netflix's writers are feeding viewers yet another SJW-fueled rant. It's a shame it was wrapped in one of the best game series in history.

Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is hard to recommend. Longtime fans won't like the characters or the story. And viewers who know nothing about the game series won't find anything to engage with or love.

Another failed Netflix hit isn't the comeback Sam deserves. But perhaps it's too early to write off the iconic operative, as long as there's hope for a remake of the original Splinter Cell.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.