cricketbat Hanna is, ultimately, too stylized for its own good. Some of the artistic choices are fun and interesting, but most of the time it is just distracting. Nevertheless, Saoirse Ronan is a wonderful actress and she gives a powerful performance in this film. The story is interesting, I just didn't like how it was told.

Sissy Taylor Amazingly done with great acting and lots of brilliantly crafted action sequences. Not a boring moment. Saoirse Ronan is just so, so good. Don't mess with Hanna! Cate Blanchett fits into her role as a bad guy and Eric Bana is excellent. The critics have seriously underrated this movie. Joe Wright directs this movie in the same masterful way he did Atonement. Highly entertaining and original Grimm fairy tale which is beautifully structured.

Wuchak RELEASED IN 2011 and directed by Joe Wright, "Hanna" starts off in the wintery wilderness of northern Finland where an ex-CIA father (Eric Bana) has been training his teen daughter, the titular character (Saoirse Ronan), to survive in a harsh world of cutthroat government agents. When the girl's ready, she's introduced to the real world where she's ruthlessly hunted down from North Africa to Germany by a mysterious intelligence operative, Marissa (Cate Blanchett), and her heavies.What I like best about this movie is its uniqueness, stylishness and picturesque globetrotting. This is top-of-the-line filmmaking with a hip, kinetic, quirky tone and superlative score, comparable to "Lucy" (2014) and Tarantino thrillers like "Kill Bill" (2003/2004). It's not a great film because there's not enough depth or mindfood, but it contains a few elements of greatness and is overall entertaining enough.We learn Marissa is preoccupied with Hanna for unknown reasons; so, while she's an expert agent, this obsession is her kryptonite. Subtext-wise, the movie's an obvious metaphor for a child reaching adulthood and the agonies of being a loving parent (preparing them for the world, teaching them necessary skills to survive, giving them increasing freedom, being candid about the callousness of life). It's also somewhat of a fairytale about the relationship between a father and daughter. Later in the film Marissa asks Erik, "Why now?" and he simply replies, "Kids grow up." I liked the dichotomy of the so-called normal banality of the civilians compared to the single-minded cold-bloodedness of the agents. If you object to the sometimes unwieldy fight scenes, go parent a child, wait eighteen years, then view it again and see if you feel the same. The film's often thrilling, but don't approach this as a straight action flick or you'll probably be disappointed.There are low-key things that are clumsily explored, like the RV family perking Hanna's curiosity about life (remember she grew up isolated in the northern wilds), but this was an obvious mechanism to make us feel bad that she was on this life-or-death mission, and different than these "normal" kids, yet at the same time special and more exciting, which is how the daughter & kid brother viewed Hanna. The individual used as a tool is hardly innovative, but I nonetheless appreciated this take on it.THE FILM RUNS 111 minutes and was shot in Finland, Morocco and (mostly) Germany. WRITERS: Seth Lochhead & David Farr.GRADE: B+

dr_john_pollard I'm surprised to see any negative reviews, but such is life I guess. I just wanted to add that the Director's Commentary is really good and adds to the experience. So if you are fan of this film like I am, this is highly recommended.Every time I see or think about this film, I always feel like this is the one film that truly deserved a second film to take the Hanna character further.