Topic: "Hanna" review by Zarban (very mild spoilers)
I knew very little about Hanna (2011) beyond the fact that the title character is a teenage girl who was raised to be the world's greatest assassin. Unfortunately, that education did not include any experience with music, human nature, school, deception, romance, or electricity—just camping and killing. So really she was raised to be the world's greatest Neanderthal.
Luckily, when she kills her way out of an underground American spy complex in the middle of the Moroccan desert(?!), she falls in with a liberal-minded English family who are on a camping vacation. Unfortunately, Hanna then does the one thing that every spy should never, ever do, and all her plans for happiness are ruined by another of Hollywood's least covert CIA operations ever.
Hanna is Saoirse Ronan, who I suppose I saw in Atonement, but who grew up enough that she didn't register. And her papa is Eric Bana, who is exactly like Eric Bana is in every role, including Nero the Romulan in Star Trek. Cate Blanchett is Joan Allen from the Jason Bourne movies.
Speaking of which, the film looks, sounds, and feels exactly like a Bourne movie, which is not really a bad thing; I like the Bourne movies. But Cate Blanchett's accent travels up and down the east coast of the United States, apparently searching for Joan Allen's office.
The acting is solid, and it has a pretty satisfying ending. But in all it feels like it is trying to deliver a message that it is really not sure about. There's a family theme that is kind of mushy, a coming-of-age theme that doesn't quite land, and some half-hearted themes of independence and freedom. It's really mostly about looking cool while killing people. That's okay, but I thought it was going to be more.
Last edited by Zarban (2012-09-06 03:47:37)
