'Anna' Is Plot Twists Galore

I first saw the trailer of Anna when it was shown prior to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and it really got me anticipating for the movie.  First, the trailer prominently pointed out that the film was from the creator of Lucy and Léon: The Professional.  Now, I didn’t care much for the former (thought it was okay), but the latter is an amazing, earnest action thriller that I immensely enjoyed.  Second, there was footage of a badass action set piece showcasing the heroine pulling off some John Wick-ish kills.  Thus, by the way the trailer marketed the film, I was made to expect that it was going to be a cross between Léon: The Professional and John Wick – and that sounded awesome in my mind.  At the very least, I was put under the impression that it was going to be the female version of John Wick that Atomic Blonde was not.

However, as it turns out, Anna is more like Atomic Blonde than John Wick – and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Set in the 1980’s, the plot follows Anna Poliatova (Sasha Luss), a beautiful Russian model who is secretly a deadly assassin entangled in an intricate, high-stakes espionage game with the KGB (Luke Evans and Helen Mirren) and the CIA (Cillian Murphy).   And that’s all the synopsis I’m going to offer since it really has a pleasing spy tale to tell and be surprised about.

As I’ve mentioned above, this film is less John Wick and more Atomic Blonde.  There are absolutely several incredible fight scenes – especially, that restaurant scene that was prominently shown in the trailer – but, like Atomic Blonde, it’s more concerned with being a cerebral, intrigue-filled spy thriller than a visceral, kickass action thriller.

The character of Anna is initially introduced as a vendor of Russian Babushka dolls, and the script is way too obvious in its desire to tie itself up with the concept of Babushka dolls both narratively and thematically.  In relation to this, the storytelling has tons of plot twists, and employs heavily the use of flashbacks to reveal the events that lead to those jaw-dropping moments.

Anna is not a well-reviewed movie by critics, but I enjoy this kind of twisty narratives – especially with spy thrillers – so I like Anna overall.  There’s some bumpiness in the story, sure, but for me, the thrills far outweigh the weak spots.  It can be argued that it only has a basic femme fatale-style plotline, but I think it’s a very solid one nonetheless that it’s still extremely satisfying in the end.

In fact, it’s probably superior to other similar films released recently, like Atomic Blonde and Red Sparrow.