A Cillian Murphy-starring action movie from five years ago is currently working its way up the Netflix charts, and it’s the closest the actor has come to starring in a John Wick film. Murphy’s Oppenheimer Oscar success has given the Irish star new levels of fame following an already impressive career. Murphy enjoyed a long and successful career long before he became an Academy Award winner. Now, one of Murphy’s lesser-known movies from 2019 has found itself trending on Netflix, and the comparisons to the John Wick franchise are inescapable.
Many movies and TV shows like John Wick have popped up ever since the first installment in the series was released in 2014. While a handful of John Wick copycats have proven to be hits, most have failed to make an impact. One such movie, which was initially dismissed when it first came out, has found renewed interest on Netflix.
Cillian Murphy’s Anna Movie Is A John Wick-Style Action Thriller
The Film Is Heavy On Action And Fight Sequences
Directed by Luc Besson, 2019’s Anna tells the story of a young woman who, after being hired by the KGB, begins working as a double agent for the CIA. Sasha Luss plays the title role, while Cillian Murphy, Luke Evans, and Helen Mirren round out the movie’s main cast. Like the John Wick films, Anna is jam-packed with over-stylized action sequences and elaborately choreographed fight scenes. It’s also violent, over-the-top, and leans into a neo-noir style, much like John Wick. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to win over either reviewers or audiences when Anna was first released in theaters.
Anna garnered largely negative reviews from critics, many of whom highlighted the movie’s lack of originality as its biggest weakness. With a score of just 33%, Anna ruined Cillian Murphy’s Rotten Tomatoes streak. Additionally, the film was a box office bomb, earning just over $32 million on a $30 million budget (via The Numbers). By all metrics, the movie was a flop. And yet Anna is enjoying a surge of popularity on Netflix, where it’s currently sitting at the top of the charts.
