Review of Hanna

Hanna (2011)
7/10
Unclear "mission" left me somewhat disappointed
3 April 2011
Watched Hanna at a sneak preview screening in San Francisco. Overall, the movie is fine, though the unclear character motivation was a bit confusing and detracted from the overall enjoyment.

The character of Hanna (Ronan) seem to be influenced by quite a bit of anime, but certainly fresh for American mainstream cinema. Miss Ronan did a good job switching between the soldier's "thousand yard stare" and the wild-eyed wonder of a child who had not seen the world (though heard/read about it). It's also refreshing to see a girl who did not use a single bit of sexuality to do what she needs.

The character of Erik (Bana) is a general Bourne-influenced tough guy, nothing else came across. He's a secondary.

The character of Marisa (Blanchett) as a ruthless "heavy" is... rather one-dimensional. She's the primary heavy, but she recruited a bunch of secondary heavies along the way.

The action sequences are generally made quite well, with good hand-to- hand combat sequences, but there's a bit too much MMA / Wrestling moves like flip / body slam. Not quite enough gunplay or weapons play, IMHO, but it's still interesting.

The main problem I have with the movie is about character motivation. What exactly was the protagonist's mission? Was it simply to kill ________? If so, why? There was zero hints on what she's "ready" for, or why. They could have fixed that with only a sentence or two.

Same with the antagonist. What was her motivation?

The motivations are the biggest problem in this movie.

There were also a couple goofs (one's already documented) that I have issues with.

Overall, the movie is enjoyable, if you can rationalize the mission, the motivations and its aftermath.
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