HANNA
(PG-13)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
There is no doubt that Joe Wright is a talented director, and he dips his toes in different water with “Hanna.” At its core, “Hanna” is an action flick with an international flavor to it. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as a teenager who has been raised in the wilderness by her father (Eric Bana). When she comes of age, Hanna is given the opportunity to turn on a tracker for the CIA to find her, which triggers an international chase and plot for revenge.
I had a real love-hate relationship with this movie. On one hand, it has so many awesome elements. The action is done exceedingly well for someone who is most famous for doing period costume dramas. And the filmmaking elements are pretty slick, including the editing and cinematography. Additionally, the acting is good for most of the cast (except for Cate Blanchett as the evil CIA agent tracking Hanna). Also, the soundtrack is brilliant, scored by The Chemical Brothers. After hearing what they did in this film and seeing how Daft Punk brought a certain level of amazing to “Tron Legacy,” I hope for more progressive musicians taking on scoring work.
But the movie falters on so many levels as well. Blanchett’s aforementioned performance is absurd as she flip-flops accents more than Julia Roberts did in “Mary Reilly.” The bad guys, while meant to emulate a fairy tale, come across as silly and homophobic. And the second act grinds to a halt. These elements don’t make the movie terrible, but it makes it not great.
The Blu-ray includes a nice selection of bonus features, including a feature commentary, alternate ending, deleted scenes and the anatomy of a scene of Hanna’s escape. Exclusive to the Blu-ray are also the featurettes “Adapt or Die,” “Central Intelligence Allegory,” “Chemical Reaction” and “The Wide World of Hanna.”