Beneath Anna Poliatova’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world’s most feared government assassins.
Usually, when a movie isn’t screened in time for the critics, it is not a good sign. It typically means that the studio who financed the movie lost faith in it somewhere along the way and they just release it on an unsuspecting public. This was the case for “Anna” but it is actually a decent action film, in fact, I’d say it’s actually pretty damn good and why it got no press screening is beyond me but there you have it, the politics of Hollywood.
Anna (Sasha Luss) is a junkie who lives in the slums of Moscow and just when she is about to take her own life as she sees no way out of her depressing, arid existence, she is offered a job by KBG agent Alex Tchenkov (Luke Evans), as a spy who would be working for the Russian government. Having previously submitted an application to the Russian Navy, her test scores were off the chart and Alex sees something in her that would serve him and his government well. She takes his offer and is trained in all forms of combat and is then given her first assignment in which she will go undercover as a glamor model in order to get close to a Russian businessman and traitor. She accomplishes her mission successfully and more assignments begin to follow.
On one of her missions, she is intercepted by CIA agent Lenny Miller (Cillian Murphy) and tells her that if she doesn’t work for him and inform him of Alex and the KGB’s goings-on, he will have her thrown into a CIA black site where she’ll never be heard from again. She agrees on one condition: that after working for him for two years, he will let her leave and set her up in the United States to live freely. He agrees and as her missions continue to accumulate, she falls for both Alex and Lenny, playing both sides off each other and when she is given the task of killing Vassiliev (Eric Godon), the head of the KGB by Lenny who also informs her that if she succeeds he will bring her to America immediately, she accepts the mission but with so much riding on this particular undertaking, she has a backup plan that if she is forced to implement, will bring the Americans and the Russians face-to-face in an unforgettable confrontation that could reignite another Cold War.
This is Sasha Luss’s first major starring role, having previously appeared in a supporting role in Luc Besson’s underperforming “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” and for a first outing, she handles herself competently. Having started out in the world of modeling, her looks serve her character well but her acting abilities still have a long way to go and that’s okay, believe me, I’ve seen “professional actors” that couldn’t act their way out of a wet paper bag but here, at least, Ms. Luss gives it her all and that’s all anybody can do. Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, and Helen Mirren have fun playing hide and seek with each other and acting shocked and bewildered when each surprising twist rears its head and let me tell you, you’ll see most of these twists coming a mile away but in the end, “Anna” is pure pulp and not to be taken seriously. Just sit back, switch off your brain, and have fun.
Now available on Digital HD and on 4K Ultra HD™ (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital),
Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital) DVD, and On-Demand September 24th
