I’ve seen the trailer for Hanna many times, and I was worried that it would be the kind of movie where they have a cool concept, they show you a bunch of cool stuff in the trailer, and then you see the movie and realize that everything good in it was in the commercials. I was very happy to learn that my fears were unfounded, because it was exciting and fun to watch from the first second to the last.
Much like Limitless, it sets up a pretty simple premise, then follows a fairly logical path from there on out. Hanna is a girl that has grown up in the forest, just South of the Arctic circle with her father. He’s trained her from birth to be, for lack of a better term, a badass. She can fight, hunt, speak multiple languages, and as it turns out, is wanted by a Southern CIA agent with a German name. The movie was so cool it didn’t once bother me that Cate Blanchett’s name didn’t fit her character, and that’s the kind of thing that usually drives me up the wall.
When she is ready to go into the world, Hanna and her father alert the CIA to their presence, and that’s when things start to get fun. Hanna is taken into custody (but not before she slaughters a few black ops soldiers), escapes from her holding location (while racking up a significant body count), and sets out to meet her father in Germany. The fact that she’s in Morocco does little to deter her, because, as I pointed out, she is a BADASS. This time it’s in all caps, because after seeing the cool things she does, I don’t think lower case stresses that enough.
Along the way she runs into a family, gains a friend, gets the family and her friend tortured and killed, fights with skinheads, battles a relic of the Nazi era, and learns to use the Internet. Every step of the way, I sat there thinking, “This is the most BADASS girl to ever walk the Earth.” She learns about why she is the way she is, some family secrets, and why she is so wanted by the CIA. Of course there is a climactic conclusion that ties the whole story up nicely, and I hope they take this character and turn it into a franchise- I would love to see her use her skills for more than just revenge.
One thing I haven’t even discussed is the cool fairy tale imagery and symbolism that is on display. There are some Red Riding Hood parallels to the story, and it’s fun to watch for little moments that evoke memories of these tales. Go see Hanna- you’re missing out if you don’t.
For those of you who need to have everything judged on a scale, I’ll rank this on a scale of sturdiness of building material. Hanna is all brick- no matter how hard you huff and puff, it’s not blowing down.
