AKA Review – a crime thriller with more heart than action

By Amanda Guarragi
Published: April 28, 2023 (Last updated: November 15, 2023)
4
AKA Review Netflix
3.5

Summary

This crime thriller has more heart than action, but that’s not necessarily bad. The bond between an agent and a young boy holds this together.

We review the 2023 Netflix film AKA, which does not contain spoilers.

When it comes to agents going undercover, the writing for these characters and the mission has to be written well. In AKA, the perspective is unique because of the focus on the young boy who has to live as the son of a mob boss.

AKA (2023) Review and Plot Summary

The young boy sees how his father operates and still wants to be loved by him, even though he treats him poorly. His father could not be bothered with showing affection, and this hurt his son.

The film does go through themes of fatherhood and instantly having that instinct as a parent to protect the child. Here, the special agent takes on the nurturing role without even meaning to, as he is deep undercover.

In order to get to know the mob boss he’s taking down, he goes through the connection with the son to gain a different angle.

It’s sad to see how out of touch the father is with his son because his wife is completely against how he treats him. We see the home life with the work life and how messy it can get when you combine the two.

When they bleed into each other, that is when you begin to lose your sense of self, and that’s what happens in AKA. 

Action crime thrillers have been a Netflix specialty recently as they’ve done some unique projects. AKA is a crime thriller that puts a special ops agent in a difficult predicament as he infiltrates a crime syndicate and befriends the son of the boss he’s trying to take down.

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Is AKA good or bad?

There is a good balance between the crime and emotional stories between the father and son. Sure, infiltrating a crime family can be considered generic, but it’s about the story that they added with the agent and the son.

While the crime boss is busy with his business, the son is getting bullied at school and takes out his frustrations on the other kids. It unfortunately always stems from somewhere, and it starts at home with him.

As the story goes on and deeper, the agent becomes more trustworthy. He gets attached to the family and to the little boy. Being undercover is harder than it looks, and director Morgan S. Dalibert explores that in AKA.

Is AKA worth watching?

The story is the most unique aspect of Aka because of the relationship between the agent and the young boy. The bond between both of them grows as the film goes on, and it’s important to see the contrast between the father and the agent.

There are secrets the agent does have that are shown in this film, which makes the viewer suspicious and uneasy with how close he is getting to the family.

What did you think of the 2023 Netflix film AKA? Comment below.

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