A movie that has flown a bit under the radar this summer in marketing, Anna is another “Wick” style movie set in the cold war era that shows the life of a KGB agent. With Anna being set in the 80’s at the end of the cold war, you get a classic spy movie not bogged down with advanced technology and gadgets where characters and drama takes center stage. Anna feels much like a Tarantino version of a Jason Bourne movie with its storytelling and structure. You often don’t find out the motivations or causes of events until you are presented with flashbacks. A movie surely to keep you guessing, however Anna paces rather slowly at times and risks losing your interest before it can develop further into its complicated plot of espionage.

Sasha Luss (Anna) is fairly new to the big screen and with that being said was pretty impressive. She is absolutely stunning at times in this film while also being quite deadly. With many action sequences requiring some extensive choreography, Sasha was able to tap into her inner Keanu and deliver some brutally executed action scenes. Helen Mirren (Olga) plays her KGB handler and is excellent. It is hard to believe at times that it was her. Luke Evans (Alex Tchenkov) plays her recruiter and is a strong addition to the ever changing plot. Cillian Murphy (Lenny Miller) plays an arrogant CIA agent hot on the KGB’s trail and it fits his acting style. All together this cast works really well together.

Anna was a somewhat unexpected quality movie. Other than some lengthy character building it was pretty well done. For those familiar with Jennifer Garner’s early career, Anna had very much an “Alias” feel to it. If they would have gotten the pacing of the film down a bit better this movie would of been very good. I understand the choices made by the director in trying to suck you in to the main character, but the Tarantino structure of the film had it ramping up and slowing down fairly quickly and at times that did not work as well. The brutal violence in the film, plus complex story structure makes Anna a film for mature viewers. If you are a fan of the espionage genre you may want to give Anna a try. While other audiences may skip Anna at the theatre it deserves a viewing at a time where it is convenient in your life.