Review of Hanna (2011) by Ryangee — 30 May 2011

With the fast-paced action flick Hanna, director Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) strays away from the emotional dramatic genre where he undoubtedly thrives in. But without losing his art film credentials, Wright crafts an action film that attempts to merge both elements of blockbuster and art. From the Nouvelle Vague-esque title opener, it is obvious that Hanna strives to be something special, a stepping stone into making the half-hearted genre of blockbusters, into true cinema. Hanna revolves on an unraveling plot that relies on the vagueness of its background information. Spending her entire childhood in a remote forest in Europe, Hanna is trained by her father, rouge CIA agent Erik (Era Bana), for an implicit task that lays in the mystery of the story. From her training scenes with Erik, displaying Hanna's super strength and intelligence, we can see that she is no ordinary adolescent. The film's movement commences when Hanna feels she is ready to take on her task, purposely igniting a signal intercepted by the malicious CIA operative Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett). This signal ends up starting a chase that essentially becomes the basis of the film.

Hanna displays an unbridled amount of originality hardly projected to a mainstream audience. Wright shows his versatile directing ability, displaying his skill in creating cinematic value in an otherwise quality-dying genre. With a commendable screenplay (written by Seth Lockhead and David Farr), a modern Chemical Brothers score, and top notch editing, Hanna is able to encapsulate a stylistic feel usually not seen in big budget films. The action is consistent and at times suspenseful, and the cast's praiseworthy performances are able to balance elements of violence and emotion. But while Hanna succeeds in creating the feeling of an art film, it ends up trying too hard and feeling too excessive, with moments that display unnecessary moments of style. As a result, the novelty loses its steam, making the conclusion feeling somewhat anticlimactic. But overall, even with its excessive endeavor, Hanna is an exuberant original experience that admirably breaks the recent pattern of senseless action films.