'Anna' is light, fun, and full of intense action. It’s one roller-coaster ride.
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After the disappointment of ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’, French director Luc Besson returns to what he does best - action thrillers featuring a strong female lead.
Russian supermodel and first-time lead actress Sasha Luss plays Anna, a highly skilled assassin working for the Russian KGB under the guise of a rising fashion model. Her immediate superior Olga (Helen Mirren) assigns her targets, which Anna disposes of dispassionately and efficiently. Anna soon tires of her double life and wants to lead a free life, but that’s not possible. When she voiced her intention to quit, she’s told that the only way to quit is death.
On one of her assignments, Anna is captured by the CIA, led by Lenny Miller (Cillian Murphy), who, unbeknownst to Anna, has been keeping a close watch on her. Lenny strikes a deal with Anna - in return for freedom and protection, Anna will spy on her own organization.
If you think that’s all there is, you’d be surprised. There are many twists and turns in the film. You think the film is going one way, and Besson will do a flashback and show that everything you’d assumed up to that point is wrong.
For her debut, Luss acquits herself relatively well. Her part does not call for much emotional acting. As a covert operative, her default countenance is a restrained, blank look, something that the supermodel would be well adept at. Notwithstanding her put-on Russian accent, Mirren is the most interesting to watch.
There are many things about ‘Anna’ that can be parodied, but luckily, the film does not take itself too seriously. It’s light, fun, and full of intense action. It’s one roller-coaster ride.
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