AKA Review: Éric Cantona and Alban Lenoir’s French Spy Thriller is Dull and Disinteresting

AKA Review: The Netflix film stars Alban Lenoir, footballer-turned-actor Éric Cantona, Sveva Alviti, Nathalie Odzierejko, Thibault de Montalembert, and Kevin Layne, among others. The French action thriller is directed by Morgan S Dalibert, who co-wrote the story with Alban Lenoir. The cinematography is by Florent Astolfi.

AKA Netflix film has a runtime of 120 minutes. The French thriller has English subtitles and is also dubbed in English.

Netflix’s AKA Review Contains No Spoilers

Plot Summary

In AKA on Netflix, a special ops agent in Paris is hired for a job to bring down a crime lord, Victor Pastore. It is suspected that Victor is involved in some terrorist activities. In the past, the agent had to don various identities to carry out various missions. But this time, the agent must bring back himself as Adam Franco. That’s his real identity.

The mission is fatal, but Adam’s problem arises when he learns dirty secrets not only about the gangster but his people. How will Adam get out of this? It is something we find out in the end.

AKA Review: Discussion

In the last few months, we have seen several movies where someone is hired to bring down a big crime lord or a gangster. Series like The Night Manager to the recently released Citadel are also based on spy agents. Has AKA given us something peculiar that makes it stand out from several spy agent titles we’ve seen in the past? Well, no.

When Adam Franco starts his spying mission, director-writer Morgan S Dailbert does build some inquisitiveness around his character, the crime lord (his boss) and everyone in the story. But when Adam starts bonding with his boss’ young son and suspects one of the gangster’s men, the mission becomes more personal than professional.

AKA 2023 has one unforeseen twist, but the implementation from start to end is so dull that it has no effect. The French Netflix thriller ticks off all the elements we expect in such movies – guns, deaths, fights, family secrets, and betrayal. Yet, none of these aspects make the story intriguing even once. Florent Astolfi’s camera also tries to capture the suspense to give a sense of threat on screen with sneaky car chases and dimly light roads. But it doesn’t add any thrill.

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The film’s third act gets diverted from what we’ve been narrated so far. The focus shifts from Adam to someone else, and the mission ends with the fizzles of random gunshots. It’s rushed and doesn’t feel satisfactory. Actor Alban Lenoir played Adam with all conviction and had that rugged, scary look. But the script doesn’t give him a chance to shine much. Manchester United’s Éric Cantona plays a gangster who has no threatening aura.

AKA Movie Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, the Netflix film AKA is not fun to watch. Despite following the basic plot of most spy agent movies, it doesn’t offer anything noteworthy in the end. The story lacks a punch and any moment that will boost the anticipation and tension.

The film is now streaming on Netflix.

Are you planning to watch the movie? Do let us know your thoughts about it in the comments section below.

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