Hanna

Hanna is quite a peculiar film. Initially, I didn't know what to make of it at first, but as the story unfolded, my initial satisfaction started to fade with each revelation. It bothered me that the filmmakers seemed to think I was an idiot, judging by some of the scenes. At one point, Hanna has what seems like an almost orgasmic encounter with a lightbulb, and struggles to turn off a kettle, but shortly after, she's casually surfing the internet in a Berlin café. It felt a bit off. There were more illogical moments like that, but I seem to have a soft spot for genetically modified assassins. If the screenwriter had chosen a mutant boy as the main character, I likely wouldn't have given it more than one star. / Lesson learned: Tell me how heavy the deer was, and Eric will tell you who you are. (07/07/2022)

An interesting way to create a film. I had the feeling that someone had come up with a very smart story, sent it via “Chinese whispers” through several morons and then they filmed the result. The border between genius and idiocy can be very thin sometimes and this film steps on both sides of it throughout. It is superbly made, but all too often I shook my head at the stupid things happening on screen (and yet it would be enough to correct the script a little). By the end I laughed out loud several times. Also, the way the final chase with the two female protagonists is put together is nonsense and confusing. PS: Mild thumbs up only for Blanchett’s character – that’s how a charismatic villain should look like. 5/10 (07/06/2011)

Progressive, superb work by the director, an excellent soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers and a goodlooking cast meet a mediocre B-movie script. Hanna could have been the most intriguing action blockbuster of the year, if someone had bothered to back it up with a correspondingly interesting story. The story that it does have is no better than that of Salt, for example. Nevertheless, it remains a cool, dynamic experience. If Tom Cruise wished to truly revive the M:I series, he should have entrusted Ghost Protocol to Joe Wright! (09/07/2011)

As a fan of Joe Wright, a huge weight has been lifted from my heart. After the surprisingly average Atonement, he finally proves that he doesn't have to have British history on his side and that he can also bring a "made-to-order" script to the screen with elegance and powerful impact. Hanna can be cold and distant like the Finnish wilderness, but within seconds can switch and suddenly become completely personal and filled with tension. When combined with the teenage perfectionist Saoirse Ronan and the rhythm of the Chemical Brothers soundtrack, he creates an experience that is hard to replicate. (14/07/2011)

The initial showcase of hunting in the style of native hunters built up my expectations, but the following scenes, where Hanna first demonstrates her murderous abilities, hit me like a cold shower. Then, after Hanna massacred the numerous inhabitants of the super-secret military base full of elite agents, my interest fell similarly to the mercury in a thermometer placed in a freezer. This film is not artsy or at least alternative-looking by intent or through its casting. Yes, Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchett belong to the top league within their generation of actors. But then what? The content is just as foolish as countless other action films produced purely for commercial reasons. I don't find anything original or intelligent in the film, the point feels like it's from a sci-fi C-movie, and some of the characters, such as the albino killer, relegate Hanna to the realm of pure trash. It takes itself too seriously to be a parody, and if Wright attempted to deviate from the usual genre paths, he desperately failed. Soderbergh went much further in Haywire, and yet he, too, only remained halfway. For me to take a film seriously, it must have a solid foundation and a plot - and in that aspect, Hanna loses on all accounts and only confirms my biases towards the action genre. So I categorically discard it. I'm sorry, Ronan, maybe next time. Overall impression: 10% for both actresses. (04/10/2015)