REVIEW: Hanna

MOVIE
Hanna

CAST
Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
April 8, 2011

DIRECTOR
Joe Wright

STUDIO
Focus Features
(Universal)

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 51 minutes




STARS
****











REVIEW:
From the moment I saw the trailer for the crazy new thriller 'Hanna', I knew that it was destined to be extremely weird. Whoever has also seen the trailer knows that this doesn't look like any ordinary movie. When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought that this came from the mind of a crazy and delusional person. After seeing the actual movie however, I can assure you that this movie does come from a crazy mind. But a crazy mind is the only kind of mind that could make a movie like 'Hanna'. In fact, Joe Wright, who directed romances like Atonement and Pride & Prejudice was a crazy choice to begin with as director. But with his direction, the supreme/talented cast, and an awesome story, Hanna is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end that you never want to see end.

SYNOPSIS: (Courtesy of Fandango.com)
Raised by her father, an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Finland, Hanna’s upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative with secrets of her own. As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and unexpected questions about her humanity.

This movie has non-stop action, a bit of romance, and just learning of Hanna establishing to the regular world. However, this movie couldn't exactly be called an action thriller. This movie is more of a coming of age thriller than a regular action-thriller. Luckily, even though the action and violence in this movie is sometimes drawn to the extreme, it's not gory at all. That alone is quite an accomplishment from the last action-thriller that I saw, Limitless. Any teen could actually relate to this crazy assassin.

As psychotic and crazy as she may be, Hanna is still a regular teen only wanting to live a normal life, experiencing puberty and relationships while on missions. In some ways, you could feel bad for Hanna at the same time you're rooting for her. You have to remember that she's just a kid and is forced to act like an adult at such a young age. That is what I admire about Hanna and the actress who plays her, Saroise Ronan. Ms. Ronan is probably best known for her Academy Award nominated role in Atonement, and her role in The Lovely Bones. This young actress becomes such a different person in each of the movies that she's in, and it's just incredible to see. For an actress at her age, who knows what else she'll be able to pull of next. As for the rest of the cast, Eric Bana is just as awesome as when he played Nero in 2009's Star Trek. And Cate Blanchett is very sinister as the woman responsible for causing Hanna and her father to escape into the woods. But the best actor in this movie other than Saroise Ronan is none other than Tom Hollander. Hollander, in case you don't know who he is plays Cutler Beckett in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He, along with Ms. Ronan steal the show, proving to be more villanous than we ever thought before.

In my opinion, this is THE action movie to beat this year. I have hopes that big action movies like Fast Five will be able to top this movie, but you never know. The action is sometimes over the top, but it's supposed to be. And like I said before, the action isn't too gruesome for teen audiences to handle. The movie also does have some humor and heart, because Hanna actually meets up with a vacationing family while she's trying to escape from the government. I doubt that this movie will appeal to everyone, but I believe that whoever likes non stop action movies with a nice twist and great acting, then Hanna would like to get the chance to show you what she does. This, along with Source Code and Rango are the best movies that have come out in the winter/early spring seasons. So if my recommendations for an adult animated or twist turning sci-fi didn't do it for you, then here's an action movie that I can honestly say will blow your socks off. Hanna, and the action that she learned over the yearsof her training make you wish that she could be your own personal bodyguard. Well, she could, but Saroise Ronan has better plans than protecting your ass, no offense.




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