Hanna (2011)
Hanna (2011) – Kick-Ass proved that a young girl killing a bunch of bad guys has definite entertainment value, but while Kick-Ass was an affectionate parody of comic book films, Hanna has a decidedly more serious take on the subject. Hanna marks a rather significant departure from director Joe Wright’s previous period dramas, Price and Prejudice and Atonement. Hanna is about a girl named Hanna (uh, spoiler?). She has been raised by her German spy father to be an unstoppable killing machine tasked with assassinating his former handler (who killed her mother). Much violence ensues. Hanna plays out as kind of a very violent modern fairy tale (a motif unsubtly hinted at early on and made abundantly clear near the film’s climax). Saoirse Ronan is great in the title role and is coming along as one of the better young actresses working today (being an Oscar-nominee and all). Cate Blanchett is a compelling villain even if her Southern accent doesn’t hold up for the entire movie. Tom Hollander is pretty creepy as her hired henchman too. Eric Bana is also very good as a guy who seems cold but is motivated by love. I enjoyed Hanna, since like the best of fairy tales it has actual danger. Lots of people get killed, including some you don’t want to. It’s a solid action movie grounded by good character work. Definitely worth seeing. Check it out.
Persistence of Vision 