A young Russian woman, Anna (Sasha Luss), is hired as an assassin by the KGB and becomes involved in a complex series of double crosses in an attempt to gain her freedom. I read one review lamenting that Anna was a long way from director Luc Besson’s heyday. However, I struggle to work out exactly when that was. Maybe 1990 to 1994 when he made Nikita and Leon, but the rest of his output has been pretty poor. So, far from disappointing, I found Anna to be a surprisingly decent diversion. It is, as you would expect quite stylish and there are a couple of well staged action scenes. Helen Mirren as Anna’s boss hams it up but also shows us a few glimpses of her enormous talent and Cillian Murphy, as the CIA agent who wants to recruit Anna, adds his usual touch of class.
Unfortunately, the film also has plenty of flaws. Luss’ acting is of quite variable quality, and the constant flipping back and forward doesn’t work for most of the time. I couldn’t help feeling that was done to mask some major plot holes. Also, the speaking English in Russian accents rather than Russian with subtitles feels so dated now. Not the turkey some have claimed, far better than Lucy, for example, but it does like the depth of the best cold way spy thrillers.
Rating: 6 out of 10