Review of Hanna (2011) by The D — 03 Aug 2013

(6.5/10).

Hanna is a very different kind of action movie and it is a highly original revenge tale. The way they set up most of the plot twists in this movie is completely genius and it's the type of movie where anything can happen next. During the first 20 minutes of the film, the audience has no idea what the hell is going on plot-wise, but it soon fills out the details of the plot as the movie progresses. I really really enjoyed the first half of this movie especially because it was highly original and it has a really cool style. The movie starts to lose steam during the second half and by the end of the film, the steam has completely run out.

My main problem with the film is that it sets up this terrific intrigue in the first half of the movie, but once some things are revealed, the results are just really simple and disappointing. The movie starts off terrifically smart, but it then just becomes an exercise of style over substance and you soon find out that the film isn't as smart as it thinks it is.

The positives of the movie are the performances, the editing, the action scenes and most of the things in the first half. The performances are terrific across the board and Saoirse Ronan makes for a really good action star. Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett are terrific as they always are. I also really like the way the film is edited, especially the action scenes. They are edited with great precision and skill with very minimal shaky-cam. There's also some really neat camera work throughout the film.

The things that bog down the movie for me is a sub-plot involving Saoirse Ronan bonding with a family on vacation and it's not very interesting. That's where the film loses most of its momentum and it never fully recovers in time for the end. I also wasn't a big fan of the ending, it just felt kinda "meh" for me.

Overall, the film is good enough to recommend and any moviegoer looking for an original action film with terrific acting will most likely be pleased.