The movie Hanna has a lot of relentless action and for that the adrenaline seekers will be grateful. It has Saoirse Ronan and her tough sweetness surly blisters the screen. Beautifully photographed, nicely acted and directed, but the storyline didn’t move me.
The film centers on Hanna a 16-year-old pubescent young lady who has spent most of her life in seclusion being trained to kill by he father Erik, an ex-CIA agent. She’s near the end of her critical education and has been allowed to make a decision, whether to continue to be in hiding or take on a task laid out by her father. When she decides to take the mission, her whole world starts to change, including her desire to be a teenager.
While the acting here is admirable, the script insists on being a hackneyed rehash of several movies that come to mind. The never-ending story attempts to take you on a roller-coaster ride of martial arts fighting, narrow escapes and a relentless chase by Marissa (Cate Blanchett- horribly miscast for the character she plays), a ruthless intelligence operative. But, the trip gets obviously predictable early one and once you figure out why Hanna is so valuable, it’s not fun anymore.
I will say that the cinematography of the wintry landscape, amazing night shots, great close-ups of Ronan and a lot of exciting fight scenes makes the film ‘watchable’. That is if you are a male teen who probably doesn’t care about the story anyway. There’s one particular scene that really caught my attention, however; it’s a confrontation between Hanna and troops sent to take her down in her snowy woodsy home.
The hard-pounding soundtrack is also very good and adds a lot of excitement to the film. Special effects also play a big role in the film even though some of the green screen shots tend to be laughable. Choreography of the fight and chase scenes almost makes the fighting look real, that is until you don’t see a mark on Hanna, almost never.
Eric Bana does his level best to keep the plot real as does Tom Hollander as a very nasty hired hit man. But, nothing can save the film from a disastrous time line, including impossible appearances by Marissa who can get halfway across a continent in a matter of minutes in her nicely pressed skirt and blouse.
Hanna is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language. You know, most of the stuff that male teens want to share with their buddies.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Hanna’s not Hit Girl, but it will have to do for now. (C )
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
