Hanna

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a 16 year old who's been trained as a ruthless assassin all her life isolated from civilisation by her father, Erik (Eric ... read more

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a 16 year old who's been trained as a ruthless assassin all her life isolated from civilisation by her father, Erik (Eric Bana), while the rest of her ilk were probably into grooming dolls and brawling in the 'Jacob Vs Edward' debate. Her life in the cold, barren, desolate regions of Finland involves an arduous training regime which you know will be put to use for a specific purpose later. Soon shes in the clutches of the C.I.A. who are actually tricked into capturing her and when she wreaks havoc in her holding facility killing more than a few agents during her escape, she truly has the attention of Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), a shady CIA operative. Marissa's pursuit of Hanna then forms the crux of the tale, while Hanna's interaction with a family on route to Berlin gives her a different human perspective on things she lacked in her isolated upbringing.

One of the main plot points in the film is the identity of Hanna and why Erik chooses to keep her isolated, training her for a specific mission in mind. This keeps you hooked on throughout and the reveal though a little out there almost Jason Bourne like is credible enough. Hanna's learning experience with the family she hitchhikes with and particularly with their young daughter is mostly played up for laughs but has a few poignant moments.

The action moves at a dazzling speed and will remind you of the Bourne series, its energy is a lot of fun to behold. The background score by the Chemical Brothers with all the thumping, funky tunes gives the movie a unique flavour and vigour. The cinematography is quite adept at capturing the mood of the scenes.

The acting is uniformly good even if I found Eric Bana's ridiculous accent hilarious. Tom Hollander particularly is enjoyable as a gun for hire and he too seems to be relishing the role with utmost delight.

An array of dazzling action sequences with a plot that keeps you on your toes and a great background score make Hanna one hell of a thrill ride.

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Hanna is a film that is trying too hard in portraying a tension-wrapped scenario which centres on a 16-year old girl by the same name. Raised in sn... read more

Hanna is a film that is trying too hard in portraying a tension-wrapped scenario which centres on a 16-year old girl by the same name. Raised in snow-covered landscape of Northern Finland with no understanding of civilization, by her father, Hanna is aggressively trained to battle any sort of potential hazard. She's impeccable in hand-to-hand combat, and she can hop and jump, and almost kill you if you try to get too close for comfort.

Joe Wright's risky departure from his conventional novel-inspired pictures' (Pride & Prejudice) is an attempt gone ghastly wrong. For after a point, it not only surrenders to monotony inspiring boredom, but it gets confounded within itself.

Moreover Hanna is a character which doesnt evoke a lot of emotions. Just like her who is clueless about the rational establishment around, we dont know what to do with her, whilst shes on screen struggling to keep track and make sense of her surroundings.

And then again, the film surrenders to being just another, strictly ordinary chase movie with its landscape spanning across country-side locations of mega-cities. Hanna hitches a ride with an unsuspecting family with two kids; and one of the daughters suspiciously shows extra-affection to our macho-woman.

After considerable period, it is established that Hannas father (a restrained, brilliant Erik Bana) opted out of one of the high profile operations of CIA after witnessing the degrading morals, and now knows too much to be alive.

Cate Blanchett plays the very bad woman Marrisa Weigler whos heading this operation, simultaneously hunting Hanna and the father. Hanna meanwhile is on a killing-spree thrashing all henchmen who interfere with a shocking stamina, and a massive, murderous appetite amid some classically well shot track scenes.

It climaxes in an unpredictable fashion. The kind of turns that would sure, shock you, but you dont want them to occur. The screen-writing, though inspiring at parts, at best is left for the viewer to adjudge. For fans of, say the Bourne series might be immensely uninterested, for lack of an uneven pacing, and a disjointed objective.

The performances are expectedly pleasant. The supernaturally talented Saoirse Ronan is the most apt actress to play the part, who plausibly portrays the title role, of a cautious and clueless teenager armed with her gifted physical strength. Cate Blanchett has got not much to do yet her Marissa Wiegler arouses hatred by the very first shot. Her cruelty is hard to miss amid those eyes that convey steely indifference. Erik Heller as Eric Banna lends able support as the father whos determined yet equally concerned.

To pass a fair judgement, Hanna attempts to thrill, but is worth watching only for the enactments, or if you unwittingly become a victim of visual treatment, Hanna might not be too bad a deal.
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If it were not for the superbly chilling and heart stopping score by Chemical Brothers I could have easily mistaken this movie for an Olympic level... read more

If it were not for the superbly chilling and heart stopping score by Chemical Brothers I could have easily mistaken this movie for an Olympic level cross country marathon what with all the running across countries and deserts and amusement parks. The music is the only thing that keeps reminding you that the story is about the daughter of a rogue CIA agent on the run from other CIA agents who want to catch her because she is part of a defunct program on children with enhanced DNA. We have to ignore the fact that all these years she was hiding in some deep Alaskan forest and need never have been found at all but chose to be found so that, well, she can run away!

I thought hard about the raison detre of the movie and figured it was revenge. Though I had to ignore the niggling thought that she would have been a more effective avenger if she had stayed hidden and hunted the CIA agent who killed her mother instead of announcing to the CIA where she was. There are a few silly bloopers as well such as the fact that she has never seen electricity and gets scared when she sees a fan and a TV but later easily surfs the net for DNA related information. Maybe long distance running makes one wiser along the way.

Saoirse Roana as Hanna is pretty good. She is vulnerable yet strong and endearingly innocent. Eric Bana as the rogue CIA agent who poses as her dad has to do a lot of running around and looking generally shifty and Cate Blanchett as the woman CIA agent who has to kill them seems to be enjoying her wickedness to the hilt.

See this movie if you want to get inspired into becoming an athlete or want to enjoy some really good music. view less

After literary adaptations like Atonement and Pride & Prejudice; and marrying music maestro Ravi Shankars daughter, director Joe Wright seemed ... read more

After literary adaptations like Atonement and Pride & Prejudice; and marrying music maestro Ravi Shankars daughter, director Joe Wright seemed like a culture vulture that sits in its uppity ice tower. But Hanna comes as a complete shock. It is not only riveting and racy but redefines the sci-fi/ thriller genre. There are no gimmicks. Just plain action and a running mystery element.

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a 16 year old girl who has been home schooled by her assassin father (Eric Bana) in a far out snowy forest. She is deadly and dangerous and can kill at the batting of an eyelid. But there is a sword hanging over their heads. The father-daughter are wanted by a ruthless intelligence agent (Cate Blanchett) who will not stop until they are dead. What her reasons are and why is a 16 year old Hanna so dangerous, well that gets revealed towards the end.

In terms of the story, the film is unique and offers something different from the usual. But the justification at the end leaves one a little cold simply because everything preceding that really sets a high benchmark which the end never really matches up to. The camerawork is slick, coupled with an excellent background score by The Chemical Brothers.

The acting department amply supports the screenplay and Ronan as the 16 year old ninja Hanna has come a long way since her Atonement days. Cate Blanchett as the evil witch (literally and metaphorically) manages to really scare in parts. But then of course she is Cate Blanchett. Eric Bana hardly has any screen time but keeps the momentum going.

The hero of the film is still director Joe Wright who with each successful work is emerging to be a top class director. And with this one, he has broken out of his mould and giving Hollywood a serious run for its money.


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good movie