Anna

Luc Besson serves up a great spy action thriller with a sex appeal-laden Sasha Luss. It's exactly the kind of gritty action flick that has been missing from cinemas for the last few years. The main character is having a hard time in life, in fact she's almost broke until she gets the opportunity to become a KGB government assassin with no competition. Cillian Murphy as the CIA chief and Luke Evans from the KGB are also great. The frequent time jumping is slightly confusing at first, but it gets proper meaning as the film progresses and there are surprisingly enough unexpected twists. There could have been more action, but when it comes down to it, you'll be sweating pretty hard. The five-minute restaurant scene in one take rivals John Wick, and cutting guys with a torn plate instead of a knife is an awesome idea! There are more than enough headshots and dead bodies. I had fun, just what I needed at the movies this summer. 80% (07/16/2019)

I’ll be honest, this was kind of a silly film. Although Luc Besson finetuned his style, and it was even entertaining, it was also disarmingly dumb. Given my yesterday’s rating of Ready or Not, I must admit I seem to have a soft spot for anorexics with a titanium jaw and an impressive body count. Anyway, I had a good time watching and didn’t have to worry about getting bored for even a second. I noticed that Luc Besson didn’t hesitate to rip off his own Nikita in some scenes, and that Helen Mirren’s character didn’t need to wear leather boots to make it obvious that she was working for KGB. (01/07/2020)

It's not overwrought, it's just completely stupid. Plus, I simply don't give a damn about these sharp girls with anorexic body constitutions that would make their arms heavy even with a toothpick in their palms, and yet they're getting it on with a plethora of jacked-up bodyguards. Besson is already a parody of himself, but Europa Corp. is giving him work, so why would he change it. (09/29/2019)

An action B-movie about a KGB assassin who must unleash a secret service war to win her freedom. And the whole thing is unfortunately mediocre fun at best. Two good action scenes and a seductive Sasha Luss in the lead role can't hide the fact that it's all surprisingly stupid and ultimately not very entertaining. (08/27/2019)

Anna is the best European mainstream spy flick since Skyfall. It is stylishly filmed, with a constantly surprising screenplay focusing not only on the action, but also on the characters. It is also well cast and wonderfully balanced politically (CIA vs. KGB). The choreography of the fight scenes, chases and shootouts is precise. Sexually passionate (Anna with men), emotionally tender (Anna with her lesbian girlfriend), seductively promiscuous through and through and as relationally treacherous as the whole dark world of secret agents. As far as spy thrillers go, I maximally enjoyed everything about this film, plus it surprised me with its clever humor and original interpretation of traditional genre motifs. Besson has a peace-loving European heart and is still a great filmmaker! (07/29/2020)