Anna, the “spectacular” spy thriller packed with “twists and turns”, is on TV tonight. If you haven’t checked this one out before, then you might want to know it boasts a stacked cast including Cillian Murphy and Helen Mirren.
The 2019 film, which is written and directed by Luc Besson, sees Sasha Luss portray Anna Poliatova, a Soviet spy who poses as a fashion model in Paris. After being rumbled by the CIA, she agrees to become a double agent – but is she bluffing?
Co-starring Murphy as CIA agent Leonard Miller and Mirren as senior agent handler Olga, the spy thriller will air tonight at 9pm on Film4, and will be available to stream on Channel 4 afterwards
Upon its release, Anna only grossed $31.6 million at the box office against a budget of $30 million, with the critical response also being mixed as evidenced by its approval rating of 34% from 73 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The gunplay in Anna grows repetitive before long, and the heroine’s invincibility feels like a cheap substitute for the power that Besson wields over her,” opined IndieWire, while The Globe and Mail called it “uncompelling”.
“What ultimately sinks the film is its overwhelming blandness, from the lack of creativity employed in Anna’s many kills to Besson’s inability to choreograph a pulse-racing action scene,” noted The Guardian.
Despite the lacklustre reviews from critics, the spy thriller did fare better with general audiences, with IMDb currently reporting a creditable average user rating of 6.7 out of 10 from 105,000 reviews.
“Spectacular and groundbreaking assassin flick with lots of action, crossfire, fights, violence and plot twists,” wrote one user in summary, while another wrote: “All in all a good movie with some twists and fun moments but no masterpiece.”
Elsewhere on the Channel 4 streaming service, other films available include a couple of Tom Hanks projects in the shape of drama A Man Called Otto and spy thriller Bridge of Spies, while Richard Ayoade’s psychological thriller The Double is also present.
