Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Hanna

& 1/2

4 1/2 Popcorn Kernals out of 5

See Trailer Here

Smart. Quick. Unexpected. Fun.


These are all the words that come to describe Hanna, a unique thriller that appears to be actually divided into several parts, all strung together into a movie that is part mystery, part action adventure, part drama, part family bonding, and part franchise.


Hanna begins in the wilderness, and so does our little star, 12 year-old Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), as we watch her first track, then kill, then gut a deer. Then she is attacked from behind by a male stranger - who when she almost wins - we find out is her father, Erik (Eric Bana), who is somehow training Hanna for a reason we are soon to discover (and so will Hanna). He has lived in the wilderness for many years, in hiding from the CIA. He was once an agent, but during what would appear a botched attempt on his life to silence him from what he knows, he also sired a daughter, who may or may not know all of his hidden secrets. He realizes that Hanna can't remain her entire life in the woods (Red Riding Hood she is not), so this training is meant for her to eventually leave, which will also cause both of them to be exposed to the CIA; especially to a certain woman who has been after them for most of their exile, Marissa (Cate Blanchett).


Marissa, with all her grays and dark colors, her obsessive behavior, her determination, is quite the character, and is played with a calm cool, as if she were the reincarnation of a serial killer soccer-mom. This personality, with its staunch behaviours, seems as calculating on the inside, as Hanna soon reveals herself to be on the outside. When Hanna decides it is time for her to leave the nest and face her future, the movie takes off - by this time we have bonded with her, her father, and have been introduced to her nemesis (yet their ultimate connections to one another are yet to be surmised).


Immediately upon her trek into the new world, Hanna is pursued, and once captured, her survival skills kick into gear (leaving a body count in its wake). But what the writer Joe Wright (Atonement) has done, is to keep Hanna's childish innocence, by introducing her to another family while on the run, and to also form a friendship with the young yet pretentious daughter, Sophie (Jessica Barden), who reminded me slightly of Hailee Steinfield who played Mattie Ross in True Grit; a role here, that wasn't as dialogue driven as the latter, but one that was punched with the same gusto. This union keeps us grounded with the fact that Hanna is a child, who has been put into a difficult situation, and just wants to get out.


What really is the situation?


That is the mystery. Hanna, Erik, and Marissa are more that what they first appear, and each are driven by motives that are as separate as they are equal - making them forever bonded together no matter how long their separation from each other. Hanna's meeting with this stray family, creates a human element that the audience can feel, because they are only driven by an uncontrollable urge to nurture Hanna, whose independent and well-rounded spirit appears to represent a small piece of each of the four-member household.


They Care. We Care.


So when the ending of this movie arrives, it actually ends - but the mysteries that are unearthed open our minds to a "What Happens Now?", as if this was but a chapter of a larger picture, whose stories could branch off in many directions.


In the end...it leaves you very, very, excited, but doesn't leave you in the woods.