Beneath a woman's striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the most feared assassins on the planet.
Watching the restaurant scene in the trailer, there was something incredibly satisfying about it. Perhaps it was the very John Wick style of fast-paced gun-based fighting, or maybe it was as simple as having an attractive woman competently kicking ass on screen. Instead, Anna is much more closely aligned to the styles of Red Sparrow and Atomic Blonde.
Sasha Luss, the supermodel turned actress looks absolutely stunning as the honey badger, Anna, and puts on a rather convincing performance. As the titular character, the camera is on her at all times, and if the story was linear, this would be a thrilling story. Luss is absolutely an absolutely gorgeous sight to behold and dominates every scene she is in. By contrast, Luke Evans and Cillian Murphy do their roles well but are underutilised in this film, relegated to minor acting roles. Even Edna--wait this isn't the Incredibles franchise--I mean Helen Mirren, has quite a downplayed role, though her transformation is very well done.
Narratively, however, this film is a mess. Due to what appears to be a lack of trust in the audiences ability to figure things out, the script is written in a way that constantly omits scenes so that a "twist" will occur later on. Little hints are placed here and there that are certainly able to be picked up on as you watch it, but we still end up flashing back in time to show you every single detail of what was omitted. Once or twice this would not be so bad, unfortunately, this narrative trick is used over and over again despite diminishing returns each time. All it ends up doing is breaking up the flow of the film, absolutely destroying any sense of pacing. Every time skip has you wanting to check your watch to see how much longer you have to sit there.
Even, the score--composed by Eric Serra--was rather generic, allowing even a fast-paced car sequence to become noticeably bland.
Unlike Red Sparrow and Atomic Blonde, Anna is a very sleek and clean spy film. A daytime spy film, the amount of clarity in each scene and the lack of a specific colour palette gives everything a refreshing and natural tone. On the downside, it shows every little detail of the fight choreography in the action scenes, and while it looks incredibly graceful, it isn't quite so convincing when it comes to having legitimate weight behind it. No matter the training, a large heavy metal object will knock someone out with ease, break bones, or at the very least cause bruises (this physical toll is an aspect that Atomic Blonde does really well).
There is a sense of fun to the film, though. With some great comedic moments that will certainly get a laugh from the audience. Interestingly enough, the comedy comes more from the "cover job" than the assassin side of things. There is a light-hearted energy that is reminiscent of director Luc Besson's earlier works, such as Lucy and The Transporter.
Overall, it's an interesting premise, but it struggles with the execution and the narrative becomes a convoluted mess. Slick and highly stylized, Anna is the epitome of style over substance, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun too.
Overall, it's an interesting premise, but it struggles with the execution and the narrative becomes a convoluted mess. Slick and highly stylized, Anna is the epitome of style over substance, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun too.