Hanna

I really wanted to watch this film but I didn't have the time when it was in theatres. So I recently treated myself to the Blu Ray copy. I decided to check the user reviews before watching it and was very surprised by the amount of negative feedback. The reviews were almost hate posts! So, I put the disc in with mixed expectations and afterwards, I sat, glued to the credits thinking "what was their problem?!" Truly a beautiful film. Don't set out expecting an action packed bad-ass picture (I think that was the problem with most of the negative reviewers). Though not as frequent as your everyday action film, the action scenes are just as exciting as ever. If you liked the fighting techniques in Taken, imagine a teenage girl pulling off moves just as hardcore, if not more. The visuals and sounds of the film are nothing short of artistic. I give it an 8 out of ten. Not the best film of 2011, but definitely not the worst.

This is a story about a unique and peculiar child named Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), on the run from presumably the CIA, finding out about herself and the world during a life-death struggle with a heartless American intelligence officer (Cate Blanchett). Blanchett scares as the cold and calculated killer spy trying to eliminate loose ends from an old case. Eric Bana is the protective father who excels at displaying the right emotions. The movie takes us from the serene and snowy arctic where Ronan grows up training to be an assassin to her travels across Europe with a quirky and clueless family on vacation to reach her target destination. We have an interesting performance by Tom Hollander as the evil accomplice chasing Ronan. An exciting ride.

A 'different' movie. Bad storyline coupled with great direction / camera / sound. Technically brilliant. The net result is quite enjoyable. One does have to suspend disbelief to take in the gaps in logic, but once you do that, it's a good ride.

The entire movie is in effect a large chase, and the direction has brought about this element superbly. The camera work and sound kept me glued.

There seems to be quite a few reviews that talk of all the gaps in logic and reasoning in the movie. They are all true, but I found the high levels of technical brilliance more than made up for it.

In the end, not a 'great' movie, but one that I nevertheless quite enjoyed.

Having read some of the more negative reviews on this site, all I can say is that they all seem to have the same complaint in common. Namely, non-acceptance of certain plot contrivances.

So let me say straight off: if you are the sort of person who didn't like Inception because it made no sense, or the sort of person who didn't like The Matrix Trilogy because it made no sense, or indeed the sort of person who didn't like any of David Lynch's films because (ahem) NONE OF THEM MAKE ANY SENSE...in short, if you are an incurable pedant, you will not enjoy this film and you might as well stop reading this review. Seriously, stop reading, don't watch the film and go calculate Pi or something.

If, however, you have an appreciation for tightly-edited, emotionally engaging, aesthetically pleasing cinema with a brilliant soundtrack and at times breathless pacing, please allow me to take a few minutes of your time.

Hanna is the story of a teenage girl who lives in total isolation with her father. She has vague memories of her mother, and these memories, combined with her (literally) encyclopedic knowledge fuel her desire to leave the relative safety of her father's protection in the frozen hinterland of northern Finland.

In a way, I don't want to say any more than that. If you've read the other reviews on this site that give away more, then I'm very sorry for you, but if not then suffice it to say that her father's motivation for keeping her in this state of isolation appears to be protection, combined with a desire to train her in survival/assassination skills, in preparation for...well that would be telling.

Of course, you don't need me to tell you that she leaves her father's protection and the story proper begins. As Chekov said "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no-one is thinking of using it" and boy, does that rifle get used.

Saoirse Ronan is brilliant as Hanna. At times seemingly invincible, at others pathetically vulnerable, owing to her complete inexperience of the world. We see the world from her unique perspective as she struggles to understand non-familiar interaction, the natural ease of recreation and even the basic electrical appliances that we all take for granted.

The story moves us from one location to the next, painting a rich tapestry of colour and culture, whilst simultaneously (and somewhat comically) contrasting Hanna's desperate need to traverse these territories with the bourgeoisie's seeming obsession with "experiencing" as many of them as possible.

The acting is solid throughout. The only truly great performance comes from Ronan, but Tom Hollander, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana all turn out good performances that serve the picture well.

However the true credit for this film has to be laid at the feet of Joe Wright. None of his previous films could possibly prepare you for Hanna. Wright's mastery of both a tight, intricate plot such as in Atonement, combined with his incredible skill in making this beautiful, thoughtful, action-packed coming of age story mark him out as a director of real class.

It is true that Hanna suffers from a few plot holes, but that plot is delivered in such an appealing, exciting and above-all entertaining film that anyone who isn't compiling continuity errors for some god-awful TV programme that relishes in the fact that THIS ISN'T REAL LIFE, IT'S ACTUALLY ONLY A FILM!! should have a blast letting this film take them along for the ride.

If you want reality, watch a documentary. If you want a very good fiction, watch Hanna.

I wasn't super hyped to see this when I first saw the trailer to this in theater but it got me intrigued. Especially how it goes in a direction where a little girl doing action sequences didn't seem lame at all, in fact some sequences was pretty darn cool. They way it reveals what is going on bit by bit was nicely done without giving away exactly and completely what the movie is about in the beginning. Good character driven movie with some good action sequences with a slight artistic cinematography. What is great about this movie is that it isn't just straight forward action movie. Even the soundtrack doesn't have the typical generic action movie style soundtrack, in fact the soundtrack is great. The masses might find this movie to be a bit awkward because it doesn't have the generic action movie feel to it. The plot isn't spectacular but somewhat absorbing. Saoirse Ronan was sometimes mesmerizing with her acting and I buy into her situation in the movie while she was playing Hanna and I wouldn't be shocked if there is a bright future for her in the acting business. However if your one of those audiences that is expecting constant action might be left disappointed. But when it comes to action it shows that you don't need a lot of CGI to make some cool action sequences. And the movie might be a bit slow at times, especially in the middle but overall it's a character driven movie with action in it that is worth seeing. It's a simple story but has just enough substance.

7.8/10