The down on your luck, young person, recruited and trained into a super spy, is gimmick that has been done so many times in Hollywood that a casual movie goer can almost tell you the events of the film just by seeing the trailer. But it’s hard to remember the last time this story was handled as poorly as it was when stood up next to “Anna”.
The title character is a KGB operative that is deep undercover in the world of high fashion in Paris. When the fatigue of being a spy sets in and an operation goes wrong, Anna is forced to fight for her freedom before she’s killed.
Does that first sentence sound foolish? It should. Have you heard this plot before? You have.
What makes Anna so bad is how hard the narrative tries to confuse the audience by leaping back and forth, while portraying the characters involved in such an unlikable manner that we could care less what their fates are.
It’s almost as if Director Luc Besson is deliberately trying to frustrate the film’s audience.
Sasha Luss’ leading performance is wooden and uninspired. Helen Mirren is buried under a pound of make-up and frankly had better dialog in the last “Fast n Furious” movie, and while Cillian Murphy’s CIA character manages moments of hope for the movie, he too is eventually buried in the awful and confusing story telling.
An action sequence in the middle of the film is done well, but then immediately buried by the rest of the nonsense in the movie.
It’s too long at almost two hours, and honestly I just wanted it to be over long before it insists on a drawn out ending. Stay away.
GRADE: F
Rated: R
