Anna 4k Ultra-HD [Blu-ray] [2019]

Not bad...well made

Have to be honest, I turned it off after 20 minutes.

Anna(2019) 151hr 59minPlot: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. An electrifying thrill-ride unfolding with propulsive energy, startling twists, and breathtaking action, Anna introduces Sasha Luss in the title role with a star-studded cast including Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, Cillian Murphy, and Luke Evans.Review:I’m usually a big fan of Luc Besson’s work, but this film just seemed like a Nikita, Leon and Lucy mash-up. The action scenes were far-fetched but well choreographed and the storyline had enough twists to keep the audience intrigued throughout, but my main problem was Sasha Luss (Anna), who showed little emotion from the beginning of the film. I know that she went through a lot as a child, and with her boyfriend but I just couldn’t warm to her. With other TV series and movies in this genre, like Killing Eve and Leon, the main character is what made them special, but in this film, it’s really Helen Mirren (Olga) who completely stole the limelight. Luke Evans (Alex) and Cillian Murphy (Lenny) also put in decent performances, and the cinematography went will with the plot, but I was really disappointed with the ending and I lost sympathy for the main character, after watching her murder everyone that came in her path. Anyway, Anna, a young Russian beauty who has been the victim of domestic abuse, will do anything to escape the life she is trapped in. In a twist of fate, she reluctantly accepts an offer by KGB affixed Alex. After a year of training, which is not shown in the movie, she is to work as a KGB assassin for five years under a handler named Olga, after which she will be free to continue her life as she pleases. KGB head Vassiliev is not willing to honour this agreement, implying that the only way out of the KGB is death. She goes undercover as a fashion model and is hired to work in Paris. At the same time, she completes various missions and assassinations. When she is found out by the CIA, she agrees to work for them as a double agent with Agent Miller as her handler, in exchange for the promise of immediate retirement and protected life in Hawaii. Miller later tasks her with assassinating Vassiliev, with the CIA hoping that his absence would lead to smoother relations with the KGB. Anna kills Vassiliev and fights her way out of the KGB. She later arranges a meet with Alex and Miller, bartering information she stole from the two agencies in exchange for a six-month reprieve. As she is leaving, she is ambushed by Olga and fatally shot for betrayal. But all is not what it seems! There are so many twists in the film, you really don’t know what is true or not. The only problem is that the director shows the outcome before you see what really happens, which was a mistake in my opinion. I would have preferred for the outcome to be a surprise, not the plan beforehand. Anyway, it really didn’t do that well at the box office, due to a poor advertising campaign and the fact that it wasn’t that great, so it has to go down as a bad day at the office for Luc Besson. It’s still a watchable film, but once you know the outcome, and the twists throughout, I can’t see it being worth a second watch. Average!Round-Up:This movie was directed by Luc Besson, who also brought you The Last Battle in 1983, Subway, The Big Blue, Nikita in 1990, Atlantis, Leon in 1994, The Fifth Element, Joan of Arc, Angel-A, Arthur and the Invisibles, Arthur and the Great Adventure, The Extraordinary Adventured of Adele Blanc-Sec, Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds, The Lady, The Family, Lucy and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Although he has produced some great movies, most of them have been flops, which is a shame because he has a unique style of directing and storytelling. As he is highly respected in the movie world, it’s not hard for him to get established actors to star in his projects, which he should have done for the lead in this film, but I doubt that the poor box office takings will tarnish his reputation.Budget: €30millionWorldwide Gross: $31millionGenre: Action, ThrillerCast: Sasha Luss, Helen Mirren, Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Lera Abova, Alexander Petrov, Anna Krippa, Eric Godon, Ivan Franek, Jean-Baptisite Puech, Adrian Can and Andrew Howard. 5/10Please check out my Movie Review blog at leonblackwood.wordpress.com

Although this is a narrative that's not entirely original - it's even reminiscent of Besson's own Nikita and Lucy - I've given it five stars because of its style, fast pace and the disjointed timeline, which allows the audience to make sense of key scenes at different times from different points of view. Sasha Luss (Anna) is perfectly cast and, along with her stunt double, is in one of the most memorably choreographed fight scenes ever. Cillian Murphy plays the stylish, smooth CIA agent Lenny and, in brawny contrast, Luke Evans plays KGB agent Alex. Now, it's no surprise all these gorgeous characters fall for one other, but only as far as their purposes will allow, Anna's to escape a miserable existence. They're all dishonest, and have to be in their line of work, so they're admirable in their commitment, but very hard to like. I like the fact that the ending is not cheesy (no spoiler!).

When I saw this movie one afternoon in Eastbourne on its release the cinema was virtually empty, which was a pity because I thoroughly enjoyed the film (maybe attendence was better for the later show). Director Luc-Besson returns to his Nikita-style territory, only this time our initially drug-hazed sort-of heroine is recruited by a secret service KGB agency NOT because she kills a cop (as happened with a shadowy French outfit in the rather better Nikita).He casts unknown Sasha Luss in the title role. She is no Scarlett Johansson (the titular Lucy also directed by L-B) or Charlize Theron in David Leitch's Atomic Blonde or the Lawrence's Red Sparrow but perfectly adequate, especially in action, and every inch the part in the modelling scenes (the latter environment probably her day job). L-B directs with his usual slick expertise, photographically it looks splendid, there's a great car chase sequence and the scale of carnage that Anna inflicts in a classy restaurant quite early on, which could become a classic lengthy excerpt, took my breath away. Vicarious, even gratuitous entertainment perhaps, but (ahem) executed with style.What the narrative lacks in depth is largely compensated by these factors. The purely visual equivalent of a good read, but with flashbacks occurring details become hazy in one's mind (until one has reference to the excellent Blu-ray that is).Indefatigable and virtually unrecognisable bespectacled Helen Mirren (herself being part-Russian) adds weight and conviction as a steely KGB second-in-command, with an eye to moving into the better heated Supremo's office upstairs. Yet even beneath that formidable ruthless exterior she manages to convey a mordant sense of, albeit sourly dismissive, humour and reveals grudgingly increased admiration towards the almost recklessly defiant new recruit (Anna proves to be one of their wildest yet most efficient assassins).(Despite not much sign of tiredness through repetition of old themes and the prestige presence of Mirren here I still think, even more than Nikita, that Leon the Professional (which cast a memorably debuting 12 years old Natalie Portman) remains one of Luc-Besson' best).The best thing in the plot of Anna, set in the 1980s, is the way in which our heroine, exhausted through being regarded as ever the executrix, manages to make the CIA (represented by charismatic Cillian Murphy) and KGB play off each other so that she can disappear with apparent immunity from the now to her stale espionage "game". Whether she pulls it off in the end will be for the viewer to find out. A 'marmite' movie therefore. You either enjoy it or you don't.

This is a stunningly good film. Brilliantly played out by all actors, 1st class production, story line, editing etc.A fabulous amount of weaving in and out of the shadows, portraying a series of edited timelines that come together in a perfectly orchestrated 4D chess game.There are several ways in which a writer can present the point of view of a story thread and to whom it is aimed: The main character knows what is happening along with the audience but 2nd and/or 3rd character doesn't. Or the audience doesn't know but everyone in the story does. The main character doesn't know but other characters and audience do know or the audience doesn't. Or, in this case, all versions plus some just for good measure.Well done to all involved. A great multi threaded espionage ride.