Film

Anna

Name: Anna
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Released: 2019
Cast: Sasha Luss, Helen Mirren, Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Lera Abova

Other titles called Anna: the 2017 film.

A sleek spy thriller about a Russian ballerina-turned-assassin working for the KGB. Stylish and propulsive, built around action set pieces and double-crossing intrigue. For anyone who wants their espionage stories visceral rather than cerebral, with a capable female lead and gorgeous cinematography that never stops moving.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like sleek, cold-blooded espionage where a single performer carries both the violence and the mood, and where the story's structure is part of the puzzle.

Skip it if you need characters to earn your investment over stylish surfaces, since the glossy look can outrun the emotional stakes and the shifting structure may feel cleverer than moving.

What it asks of you: Just under two hours of brisk, brutal set pieces threaded through a restless timeline, so stay alert, because it rarely pauses to let you catch your breath.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Atomic Blonde2017

A superb action vehicle with Charlize Theron as an MI6 agent in 1980s Berlin. Brutal fight choreography, a killer soundtrack, and that same glossy spy-thriller energy that makes style and substance feel inseparable.

But The plot is fairly thin and often takes a backseat to the action sequences. If you need character depth over spectacle, this won't satisfy.

Red Sparrow2018

Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian prima ballerina turned intelligence officer. Complex, morally messy, and grounded in Cold War tension. It shares Anna's fascination with how nations weaponize their own people.

But Nearly 2.5 hours of intricate plot turns and double-bluffs. Some find the pacing glacial; others wish it had cut more ruthlessly.

Kill Bill: Vol. 12003

The template for modern female-led action cinema. Tarantino's assassin-on-a-mission narrative is lean, visually audacious, and addictively entertaining. That same sense of controlled violence as craft.

But The tone is wildly stylized and sometimes campy. If you want realism or subtlety, this celebrates neither.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Anna

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Lives of Others2006

Both examine the KGB/Eastern Bloc apparatus, but Lives insists we feel the weight of it, while Anna lets us enjoy the glamour and adrenaline. They're opposite registers on the same theme.

A Stasi surveillance officer in Cold War East Berlin becomes emotionally compromised by his target. The moral geometry of surveillance states, loyalty, and humanity. Achingly quiet where Anna rushes, but equal in its exploration of the human cost of state machinery.

But Slow, contemplative, almost entirely interior. Long stretches with no dialogue. If you watch Anna for action, this will feel punishingly static.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout2018

A spy thriller that trusts action sequences to move the story forward. Beautifully shot, meticulously constructed, and genuinely thrilling. Pure filmmaking craft applied to espionage.

But You need to have followed five previous films to grasp the full emotional stakes. It's part of a machine, not a standalone experience.

Haywire2011

Gina Carano as a covert operative betrayed by her handlers. Steven Soderbergh directs with cool precision. A lean, smart action film about a woman with a specific skillset used against her own interests.

But Deliberately understated dialogue and pacing. The emotional beats are muted; some audiences find this distant rather than intriguing.

Nikita1990

The original template for 'beautiful assassin.' Luc Besson crafts a story about a street orphan conscripted into state service. Raw, influential, and surprisingly moving about exploitation and agency.

But The 1990 aesthetic is unmistakable and not to everyone's taste. The dubbed English version softens scenes the subtitled version keeps sharp.

xXx2002

Vin Diesel as an extreme-sports athlete drafted by NSA as cover. Pure adrenaline, ridiculous gadgetry, and action that prioritizes fun over logic. Sometimes you want exactly this.

But The script is thin, the dialogue often cringeworthy. It knows what it is and doesn't apologize, which some find liberating and others tiresome.

Le Samouraï1967

Anna's visual language and fascination with the professional killer as archetype descend directly from this film. Both treat assassination as a discipline. But Samouraï is interior and spiritual; Anna is external and propulsive. They're asking the same question from opposite sides of the camera.

Alain Delon as a hitman moving through Paris with Zen-like precision. Melancholic, formally perfect, almost silent. A film about the psychology of a professional killer—the loneliness, the ritual, the code. The ancestor of every stylish assassin film that followed.

But Made in 1967 in French. Intentionally slow and meditative. If you're looking for modern pacing or dialogue-driven narrative, the experience will feel glacial and opaque.