Anna

Le meilleur film européen d'espionnage grand public depuis Skyfall. Filmé avec style, surprenant en termes de scénario, se concentrant non seulement sur l'action, mais aussi sur les personnages. Doté d'un bon casting, politiquement équilibré (CIA contre KGB). La chorégraphie des combats, des courses et des fusillades est précise. Sexuellement passionnant (Anna avec les hommes), sentimentalement délicat (Anna avec sa petite amie lesbienne). À la fois séduisant et perfide, comme tout l'univers sombre des agents. J'ai aimé chaque élément de ce film, autant que possible pour un thriller d'espionnage, et j'ai été surpris par son intelligence et sa vision novatrice des motifs traditionnels du genre. Besson a un cœur européen pacifique et reste un réalisateur formidable ! (29/07/2020)

It's not overwrought, it's just completely stupid. Plus, I simply don't give a damn about these sharp girls with anorexic body constitutions that would make their arms heavy even with a toothpick in their palms, and yet they're getting it on with a plethora of jacked-up bodyguards. Besson is already a parody of himself, but Europa Corp. is giving him work, so why would he change it. (29/09/2019)

An action B-movie about a KGB assassin who must unleash a secret service war to win her freedom. And the whole thing is unfortunately mediocre fun at best. Two good action scenes and a seductive Sasha Luss in the lead role can't hide the fact that it's all surprisingly stupid and ultimately not very entertaining. (27/08/2019)

Luc Besson serves up a great spy action thriller with a sex appeal-laden Sasha Luss. It's exactly the kind of gritty action flick that has been missing from cinemas for the last few years. The main character is having a hard time in life, in fact she's almost broke until she gets the opportunity to become a KGB government assassin with no competition. Cillian Murphy as the CIA chief and Luke Evans from the KGB are also great. The frequent time jumping is slightly confusing at first, but it gets proper meaning as the film progresses and there are surprisingly enough unexpected twists. There could have been more action, but when it comes down to it, you'll be sweating pretty hard. The five-minute restaurant scene in one take rivals John Wick, and cutting guys with a torn plate instead of a knife is an awesome idea! There are more than enough headshots and dead bodies. I had fun, just what I needed at the movies this summer. 80% (16/07/2019)

A stylish action movie with an atomic blonde in the role of a brilliant spy. High-octane fun with breathtaking choreography and a perfect team of actors in the supporting roles. It’s just the kind of nonsense that, despite being terribly naïve, was made with such gusto that you’re going to want to watch it more than many an Oscar winner. Besson’s still got it. (30/09/2019)

An alternative to Red Sparrow, or rather La Femme Nikita, made by the pop-culture lover of European action films Luc Besson, who cast an unknown girl with a sexy look and long legs instead of an A-list actor. The plot is more complex on the surface, with a lot of flashbacks and time jumps, but in the end it's all about the same: everybody betraying everybody, it's just a matter of how cool they are while doing that. Helen Mirren is the coolest by far, the rest are more or less OK. Ironically, Anna is a film with damnably little action, and the delicious restaurant scene touted in the trailer is the actually the only proper action scene of the whole film. This is impressive, but Besson traditionally gives way to a certain degree of raw reality and leans more towards the style of an action ballet in the style of John Woo, where everything looks gorgeous, everything moves along nicely and the cameraman rotates around the main character in style, but the heroine doesn't grow on you, nor does the main male cast, so all that's left is the aforementioned old lady, whose behaviour and appearance safely evokes echoes of the Cold War of the 1980s and 90s in a typically Russian crude style. And one more thing, the production really messed-up the nineties setting, in one scene there are cars with LED lights on the road, and there are mobile phones everywhere. (17/09/2019)

I would say this film is such a Best Of Luc Besson. A strong heroine, her strong story, some humor, twists and turns aplenty (which give the story an original telling), a stylish atmosphere with typical Eric Serra music, and when it comes to the action, you know you'll want to watch The Professionalnext. Sasha Luss is not only easy on the eye, and a cool killing machine, I surprisingly trusted her as much as I did the regular girl (which is a big difference from Milla Jovovich), but Helen Mirren was absolutely stunning, clearly enjoying her commanding role. The only thing that distracted me – and this is something Besson and Co. could have been careful about – was the use of fairly modern technology in the late eighties and early nineties. Cell phones I might still accept, but laptops and USB drives are too much – it's a shame, because if this had been honest retro with all the trimmings, the film would have been even better. (31/08/2019)

At the end of Besson's La Femme Nikita, Tchéky Kario smilingly announces to her boyfriend that they're going to miss the girl and he just takes an unhappy drag from his cigarette, nods his head and looks out the window in response. And I kind of think that despite all this, this is how we're going to talk about Luc Besson when it all falls apart, Europa Corp goes bankrupt, and he himself goes into images of the past. Because as much as we may freak out about the lack of logic, the lack of a coherent plot, the attempt to disguise the awful digital imagery, the completely incomprehensible anachronisms (for at least the second time with Besson, I feel like he decided on the period when the film would be set no earlier than in post-production), or the lack of dramaturgy, we still have to remember that this is the price we pay today for watching some of the last of the West’s auteur action films. Moreover, in this case, Besson takes a ways further his torch of the Cinéma du look movement, which worked with a distinctive advertising aesthetic, among other things. Indeed, everything here is completely secondary to the product Besson is interested in – the three-foot, thirty-pound and, in the action scenes, utterly breathtaking Sasha Luss. That's why the only things that work in the film are the things she touches, and only because she’s the one touching them. The resulting Gaussian curve, where we are moved from irritating civilian scenes to the best action sequences of the year, is probably best expressed in the words of Milan Vébro, director of Settlement of Crows 2: "It was great! It was terrible." (19/11/2019)

Une Russe pleine de charme qui baise frénétiquement, joue aux échecs à la perfection et détruit ses ennemis comme John Wick. La combinaison parfaite entre une beauté tueuse et une intelligence féroce. Il faudra que j'aille voir dans les autres critiques si d'autres spectateurs ont trouvé que la scène du restaurant et celle se déroulant au siège du KGB sortaient tout droit de John Wick. C'est nickel et je dois dire que je suis vraiment impressionné. Extravagant, intelligent, drôle et surtout, sacrément sexy. J'adore ce genre de narration qui sème le trouble dans la tête du spectateur et requiert de sa part une attention absolue pour s'y retrouver dans le temps et dans l'espace. (10/10/2020)

I’ll be honest, this was kind of a silly film. Although Luc Besson finetuned his style, and it was even entertaining, it was also disarmingly dumb. Given my yesterday’s rating of Ready or Not, I must admit I seem to have a soft spot for anorexics with a titanium jaw and an impressive body count. Anyway, I had a good time watching and didn’t have to worry about getting bored for even a second. I noticed that Luc Besson didn’t hesitate to rip off his own Nikita in some scenes, and that Helen Mirren’s character didn’t need to wear leather boots to make it obvious that she was working for KGB. (07/01/2020)