Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 18:25:44

Great Concept, Flawed Execution, Beautiful Cinematography.

The concept of the film is an exciting one: a 16-year-old assassin, à la Mathila from THE PROFESSIONAL (but intensified), is on the run from government agents, namely a slick CIA woman for as-of-yet unclear reasons. The visuals are sleek and even poetic, which sets this particular film apart from other thrillers. The set-up of the film raises an intriguing question. Will Hanna Heller (played by the magnificently sensitive Saoirse Ronan) decide to leave the nest of the forest in Finland in order to discover the world outside, in spite of the dangers that she is almost certain to encounter? This is a question encountered by many "normal" people on some level, and it is a particularly pertinent question, given this day and age (and economy). The main problem stems from the tone of the film. It is part LA FEMME NIKITA, part THE PROFESSIONAL, part RUN LOLA RUN, part THE BOURNE IDENTITY, part...HOME ALONE?The Grimms fairy tales are so important to the overall meaning of the film that it is set up in the first couple minutes, and Hanna even recites multiple times throughout that she has to meet her father (Eric Bana) at Wilhelm Grimm's house in Berlin. Unfortunately, the film's connection to the Grimms tales seems superficial at best, and it appears that the Brothers Grimm are mentioned purely so that there is an interesting-looking location for the climax (big fairy tale bed, faux candy, brightly-colored set decor in the aforementioned house). It seems incongruous that Hanna, who has been trained to the extent that even her father ambushes her in the middle of the night to test her (in fact to drill into her head that she is never safe, even while sleeping), would later freely confess her planned meeting place to her new friend Sophie. This, of course, could be attributed to Hanna's humanization, her opening up to the very first friend in her life, but given the caution shown beforehand to mold her into a callous fighting machine, this seems sloppy and lazy--just an easy means to allow the antagonists to find her in order to get to the climax.The minions Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett) employs to help find Hanna and her father are ludicrous and contribute largely to the film's downfall. Isaacs (Tom Hollander) is the main henchman, and he has a bad blond dye-job and dresses in different bright-colored jogging suits with his two dome-headed accomplices. One accomplice, by the way, is a tall wiry man who wears acid-wash skinny jeans with knee-high boots and a cropped nylon jacket. Yeah. Acid. Wash. Skinny. Jeans. There you go. They provide comic relief, but juxtapose any scenes with these henchmen with one of the most exciting scenes of the film: Hanna under surveillance by the CIA in a clinically sparse holding cell, reminiscent of something out of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE or SALT. So, these henchman are what Hanna, with all her back-breaking training and ability to beat up a team of grown men without blinking, is matched up against? They mirror the bad guys in HOME ALONE--Harry, the mastermind who is slightly less stupid than his partner and therefore leader, and of course Marv, the moron. In both these films, the idiotic antagonists are outsmarted by a fast kid. Except HOME ALONE is marketed as a comedy, so that works. One wonders why Wiegler, with all her purported acuity and resources at the CIA, couldn't come up with better henchmen than ones she picks up at a bar. Wiegler is simultaneously amazing and disappointing. With her sharply-tailored dress suits, cropped red hair, stark make-up, and expensive designer heels, Wiegler cuts an impressive figure as she gives orders at the CIA. She is clearly a powerful woman in charge, not afraid to screw on a silencer on a gun in order to kill--well, as it turns out, anybody. Though she appears as robotic as Hanna in the beginning, she reveals some concessions she has had to make in order to get to the top of the totem poll. When asked if she ever had children, Wiegler somberly responds, "I made certain choices." She is not simply the Evil Queen of the fairy tale, but had the film explored this aspect of her character a bit more, the ending (as it is, ridden with simple mistakes) would have been more satisfying. The family Hanna shacks up with is a touching bedrock of the film, particularly when Hanna witnesses the family bonding and kidding around in a way that she never got a chance to experience. Unfortunately, her friend Sophie's dialogue is comically stilted and extremely unrealistic (this works in a lot of films, but not this one). The highlight of the family is the young Aldo Maland, who plays Sophie's younger brother Miles. Though he's not in many scenes, he steals the ones he is in with his hilarious facial expressions and reactions to the actions of the confusing adult world around him. In the end, the climax of the film doesn't feel earned, simply because the story hasn't woven the Grimms allegory deep enough in order to justify the silly antagonists and out-of-the-ordinary tidbits. The setting screams, "LOOK AT THE COOL ABANDONED AMUSEMENT PARK WITH THE BROKEN ELEPHANT! AND THE COOL GRIMM HOUSE! ISN'T THIS GIANT BED COOL? SEE? IT'S THE GRIMMS, YOU SEE...JUST LIKE IN THE BOOK HANNA READS WITH HER DAD!" Despite its flaws, the film is, however, worth watching just to see Saoirse Ronan handle a rare role like this. It is not every day that a filmmaker attempts to portray a 16-year-old character in such a complex and philosophical way. Ronan seems to handle every possible state director Joe Wright throws at her with ease--confusion, happiness, nervousness, anger, and freedom. Oh, and she kicks major ass, too, holding her own against men more than twice her age and size.

KineticSeoul 2012-05-25 08:32:42

Simple action movie with a 16 yr old girl, but still has enough substance

I wasn't super hyped to see this when I first saw the trailer to thisin theater but it got me intrigued. Especially how it goes in adirection where a little girl doing action sequences didn't seem lameat all, in fact some sequences was pretty darn cool. They way itreveals what is going on bit by bit was nicely done without giving awayexactly and completely what the movie is about in the beginning. Goodcharacter driven movie with some good action sequences with a slightartistic cinematography. What is great about this movie is that itisn't just straight forward action movie. Even the soundtrack doesn'thave the typical generic action movie style soundtrack, in fact thesoundtrack is great. The masses might find this movie to be a bitawkward because it doesn't have the generic action movie feel to it.The plot isn't spectacular but somewhat absorbing. Saoirse Ronan wassometimes mesmerizing with her acting and I buy into her situation inthe movie while she was playing Hanna and I wouldn't be shocked ifthere is a bright future for her in the acting business. However ifyour one of those audiences that is expecting constant action might beleft disappointed. But when it comes to action it shows that you don'tneed a lot of CGI to make some cool action sequences. And the moviemight be a bit slow at times, especially in the middle but overall it'sa character driven movie with action in it that is worth seeing. It's asimple story but has just enough substance.7.8/10

Christian_Dimartino 2012-05-25 02:06:16

One of the year's strangest, and one of the year's best.

I haven't loved many movies in 2011. I have really liked a lot, butthere have only been about five that I found excellent. And directorJoe Wright's(Atonement) latest film, Hanna, is one of those films.Saoirse Ronan, one of the best young actresses there is,reunites withWright once again. As if their first film(Atonement, which got her anOscar nomination), wasn't good enough, they have come back with anotherperfect movie.Ronan plays Hanna, a girl who has never been into the outside world.Her and her father(Eric Bana)live out in seclusion. Until the C.I.A.track him down. He goes on the run, and Hanna is captured.But that doesn't last long. Because Hanna is a trained killing machine.In the meantime, an agent(played by Cate Blanchett, giving a strangeredneck accent), is trying to track her down, for reasons I can'tspoil.Wright has never done an action movie, or a movie that isn't based on anovel. But he has a gift for it. The action and chase sequences areextremely well shot, and thrilling too. The score by The ChemicalBrothers is awesome, and definitely fits the film.There are a lot of strange moments here, and the plot itself isstrange. But I like a little strange activity in a film. Ronan reallypulls the film together though. She is part of what made Atonement sucha marvelous film, even though she wasn't in it the whole time. I hope that for Wright's next film he goes for something along theselines... and not The Soloist. Overall, Hanna is Salt's niece, but a lotsmarter. But I like that movie too. But this is one of the years best.A-

2012-05-24 10:36:55

Lame with a capital L

A well photographed, well acted, quirky, esoteric film that goes no where, with characters that meant nothing to me. Cate Blanchet was obviously contractually obligated to be in the nonsense. All the cool music, great sets, fantastic locations, and odd audio in the world will not supply a story for a film that has none. Sorry. This film was a zero and it implied zero all throughout. Episodes of Adventure Time with Finn and Jake have more to tell and say than this canned ham of a film did.

billcr12 2012-05-23 23:39:17

worth it for ronan

Saoirse Ronan stars as Hanna, a teenage girl trained by her father,played by Eric Bana, to survive in the wilderness and to be anassassin. Ronan is superb in the lead, being on screen most of thetime.Cate Blanchett is the villain here, as some kind of secret agent type.This is a surprising role for Blanchett and she carries it off withstyle.The problem is the story not the actors who are fine throughout. Theaction scenes are well done but nothing that we haven't seen before.The first 2/3 had me wondering what would happen next, but the last 1/3was disappointing and convoluted, especially the ending which wasutterly ridiculous.The cinematography and locations are great, as is the acting, so I givea 7 for effort.

FanPerspective 2012-05-23 12:49:39

'Hanna' is a smart, face-paced thrill ride that will get you exhilarated

You either adapt or die in director Joe Wright's newest action flick,Hanna. Growing up in the secluded forest of Finland with her father(Eric Bana), an ex-CIA operative, Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) has been raisedto be the perfect assassin. Now, 16-years-old, she is sent out acrossEurope by her father on a mission and must elude the CIA agentstargeting her, led by ruthless agent, Marissa (Cate Blanchett), whocarries a secret of her own. Aided along by an electrifying soundtrackcomposed by The Chemical Brothers, this smart, fast-paced thrill ridegets you exhilarated. In a day and age where we see countless remakes,Hanna is a breath of fresh air in its originality. And aside from beingthe very definition of badass, the story also conveys the message ofgrowing up with heart and dark humor. The events that occur throughoutthe film are made that much more compelling by the directing andediting choices, which are just mesmerizing and unique; quick cuts andspin shots mixed in with the lighting are just beautiful to watch andenhanced greatly by the soundtrack. There's no way you'll bedisappointed with this film as it delivers quite the punch!

Hellmant 2012-05-23 07:59:55

Joe Wright proves himself a directing force to be reckoned with!

'HANNA': Four Stars (Out of Five) Stylized revenge thriller, this one focusing on a 16 year old girl(with amazing strength and deadly skills) trained to be an assassinsince birth. It's directed by Joe Wright, who's directed suchcritically acclaimed (and oddly different) films as 'ATONEMENT', 'PRIDE& PREJUDICE' and 'THE SOLOIST'. The film was written by first timefeature film writers Seth Lochhead and David Farr and the script madeboth the 2006 and 2009 Black List (a list of what Hollywood insidersrate the best unproduced screenplays of the year). It stars SaoirseRonan, of 'THE LOVELY BONES' and 'ATONEMENT' fame (in which Wrightdirected her to a supporting actress Oscar nomination), as the 16 yearold super assassin and title role. It also stars Cate Blanchett andEric Bana. Although the film lacks any true originality or a strongamount of character depth it's still uniquely memorable and highlyentertaining.Bana plays ex-CIA operative Erik who's been raising his 16 year olddaughter (with enhanced abilities and strength) Hanna since birth inthe Finland wilderness, far away from society, technology and the restof the world. He's kept her hidden due to the fact that her terminationis highly desired by an old CIA colleague of his named Marissa(Blanchett). Marissa will stop at nothing to see young Hanna dead andhas incredible resources to help her do it, including the CIA. Erik hastrained Hanna to be the perfect killing machine in order to give herthe skills to stop Marissa and free herself once and for all. Aftermuch begging and pleading from Hanna to finally complete this mission,and fulfill her desires of seeing the outside world, Erik gives her atransmitter which will allow her location to be picked up by Marissa.After some consideration Hanna activates the transmitter and waits forMarissa to come get her. Chaos ensues.The movie does follow a pretty standard revenge thriller format withnot a lot much more to it but there are some small twists and the wayit's directed is superb. Wright proves himself a directing force to bereckoned with here and I look forward to seeing future projects by him.I wasn't a fan of all the film's slow-mo fight scenes (which are alittle overdone) but for the most part the movie has a very unique andlikable feel and mood to it. Enhanced greatly by the score, composed bythe band 'The Chemical Brothers'. The characters aren't extremely welldeveloped but there's definitely enough there to get to know themsomewhat and feel for them on some level, or at least some of them.Especially Hanna's character and her coping with the common theme offeeling like an outcast and freak. The character rings very true thanksin large part to Wright's directing and Ronan's performance. Her andBlanchett really make this film rock and give two of the best femaleperformances of the year. It's one film I'd definitely recommendseeing.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95Zjdlcbe0

HorrorSeeker 2012-05-22 18:48:09

Genome Soldiers

Genome Soldiers , is That sound familiar ? , I think the writer SethLochhead Quote his story from the METAL GEAR SOLID Video Game Story ,and he Succeeded in create his own vision from it.This is the first action thriller movie to the director Joe Wright andi hope its not the last because he does a very great job here , andmanage to made the viewer in the edge of his seat most of the time. all Actors does a great performance especially Saoirse Ronan whoMastered one of the very hard Arabic accents.from the start to the very end the movie will drag you to its solidstory telling , the bottom line is prepare yourself to a veryEntertaining and suspenseful ride .

ladymoonpictures 2012-05-21 18:02:19

Inconsistencies, Plot Holes Galore_Gets Ridiculous in Berlin!

Spoilers: See first! First off, what's with these so called expertkillers Kate brings into the mix to get the girl? There fat, out ofshape and more like clockwork orange hoodlums, that couldn't win a barfight let alone beat a superior, fighting hybrid! If all the hybrids(for a lack of a better word) had to be 'terminated' and Hanna was thelast left, think about this..., here's Kate keeping up with her, inheels! chasing her and Hanna was not able to put distance between them?The point is: If that's all the hybrid can do, WHY does the U.S. haveto see her dead? (Obviously, she's not all that bloody superior if thatold, British broad is out thinking her! And how do the clockwork orangegoons ever find her in Morrocco? Was that the ONLY seedy, little jointin the whole country that the lugs somehow knew that's the one she'd beat? Give me a break.Why doesn't it reveal whether the British couple and their kids werekilled or not? Anyone who can jump onto an undercarriage of a Humveewhile traveling over them at speed is frankly, CARTOON! And WHY doesEric, after waiting 13-years in hiding near the Arctic Circle, with abeard and long hair, suddenly cut his hair/have to look...EXACTLY likehis file photos, to be instantly recognizable when he leaves theforest? Senseless. And oh BTW, he leaves in suit in sub zero temps.Hello~What in the world were Kate's gums bleeding for? It has nothing to dowith the plot at all! When Eric fights the 3 guys in the vacant space,when the thugs after incredible hesitations, finally do decide to firetheir weapon, Eric had time to through one of them into the line offire and throwing a knife to kill the gunmen. To coin a classic linefrom Eli Wallach about clowns just like these losers..., "If you'regoing to shoot...SHOOT. Don't talk!" Great acting by Hanna, for sure!

2012-05-21 10:44:32

Uncle Bebo reviews Hanna and rates it with 5 bleeps!

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2012-05-21 07:07:49

Hanna-Barbera

If this film was condensed into just being an extended Chemical Brothers music video, it would hit all of the right spots. Not to knock the entire movie completely. Sure this film has plenty of style. Wallops of it in fact. And sure this film plays at times like The 5th Element and Run Lola Run, but that's not a bad thing at all. In fact those two aforementioned films are a few of my guiltiest pleasures, and Hanna follows in the same vein of creating a world all of it's own. A strong cartoonish vibe runs throughout most of the film, and I felt it should've stayed in that mode throughout the second half, but instead Hanna devolves into a Bourne Identity flick, of which I am not a fan in the least. However, the graphic novel qualities of the first half really propel Hanna into a very entertaining and unique experience. Yet, Cate Blanchett didn't come across as being too frightening or intimidating, which kind of brought the film down, and her sweatsuit clad right-hand man was just a terrible decision altogether. Despite these flaws, Hanna is a beautiful film to look at and is one of the stronger films I have seen this year.

2012-05-20 20:11:00

Suspension of disbelief required for this one.

(SPOILERS CONTAINED IN REVIEW)Drone teenager is trained to grow up to become an assassin and kill her mother's killer. While dodging bullets on her first mission and never missing a shot she discovers the outside world, having been locked in a cabin in the woods all her life. The mission to kill her mother's killer does not begin until she throws a homeing becan device which will alert her mother's killer to her location. Duh... yeah that's always a good move for an assassin right? Im believing all this :P The movie opens with some good action scenes but what follows is an action movie that stalls in both story and believable action. Check out the 1991 movie Lafemme Nikita if you want to see this genre done better.

fredman5555 2012-05-20 00:02:57

Hanna the Hunter is really just a drone in another person's game.

Action: 6 / 10 on action. There are three distinct action segments ofmaybe 10 minutes each, and one of them is particularly fun in the, "ohyeah? Well suck on this bi-otch," kind of way, but overall, this movieis more drama than damage.Plot: 5/10. We've seen it before. You've got your "still-in-power, evilgovernment operative" who ran a questionable program, and you've gotyour "product of the program now out to get revenge" after havingdisappeared from the grid for a long time. The only thing left to bediscovered in this one is who the players are and how they are dealtwith. It doesn't seem like much effort was put into this plot to trymaking it unique in any sense.Surprises / Originality: 1 / 10 here. There are no surprises (exceptmaybe your surprise at the lack of realism in some areas). This isn'tan original idea either. Think "Salt" mixed with "Kick-Ass" and maybe atouch from "Brotherhood of the Rose" or "Bourne Identity." You couldwrite it yourself using just the above movies as a base.Duration: 6 / 10. This is about standard length for today's movies --around 100 minutes or so. Surprisingly, even though I was enjoying it,it felt a bit long as I got to what was the last ten minutes.Character development: 5/10. We don't learn much from characterinteractions. There is an attempt to show the main character, Hanna(Saoirse Ronan), as someone who knows very little about growing up anormal child, but the attempt is clunky and abrupt at best. She makes afew faux pas in some areas (which adds an element of humor andembarrassment), but then turns in other areas into someone who seems tohave a "text-book" knowledge of what youth is supposed to be. Andlater, she seems to want to become a different person altogether. Givenher situation, these may be plausible elements; however, I thought theywere just sort of thrown in and didn't flow at all. As for the othercharacters, what little we discover about their pasts and personalitiesis really just patchwork -- a couple of seconds here and there.Actors: Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, and Tom Hollander are the mainnames. Perhaps Tom Hollander gives the best performance (other thanSaoirse Ronan), but he's still not nearly as convincing as he was in"Pirates...".Synopsis: Though I've been kind of tough on it overall, I did enjoywatching it. As I said earlier, one of the action scenes was a fun"in-your-face" type which I replayed three times (yes, I rented it).What I did not get was a feeling of "wow" once I'd reached the end. Ididn't feel I'd seen a truly dynamic, life-changing movie. I merelyfelt like I'd passed a couple of hours of alright entertainment. Inaddition, I felt the wrap up was abrupt like I still needed moreclosing information. All things considered, I give it an 6/10! See whatyou think.

alex 2012-05-19 20:15:21

Poorly plotted and plodding plop

Based on the rating one would be forgiven for expecting a film thatfirst made sens and second was actually good. I was looking forward toseeing this but after watching it wish I had not wasted my time. Thewhole thing was too daft and over convoluted for words. Hanna startedin the Arctic, got captured and ended up in Morocco, escaped to Spainand then to Germany. This without the faintest idea what to do with alight switch, telephone or annoying TV programme. But of course she wasable to first, find a place with a computer and second, use oneproficiently enough to extract information from. Seemed odd she wasfreaked out by a light switch but knew what a computer was. Also herfighting skills against trained soldiers was stunning but she was notvery well trained in warding off skinheads in the employ of a whistlingdwarf in a tracksuit. What Cate Blanchett was doing and why wasdifficult to understand and the plot revelations were never reallyexploited very well. It had the makings of a good film but was toostupid to actually make the grade. If this was Eric Bana's plan to killhis nemesis it assumed a lot of things would go Hanna's way for her tocomplete her Mission Impossible. Especially as she was unable to eventurn on a light. Her escape was utterly silly and became sillier whenshe hooked up with the family in the camper van. Very little of theactions of anybody in the film made that much sense and the story madeeven less. The reviews here written by those who worked for theproduction team ensure that the film feels worth watching but beststart at the hated it and work upwards for a sense of what the film isreally like. Another promising movie that failed miserably. ThankfullyI saw 'Paul' the same day and that made up for watching Hanna.Hopefully 'Super 8' will be more 'Paul' than 'Hanna'.

2012-05-19 02:39:00

Thought provoking and beautiful

It's rare to see beautiful filmography in an action movie. And though it may be disingenuous to call this an action movie, it absolutely has the underpinnings of one and also has amazing visual artistic qualities.The story itself is going to polarize audiences. There will be two types of viewers: The type that sees an odd action movie and the type that sees a philosophical statement on life. Either audience is going to see the action and novelty aspects, but, as a member of the second group, the movie touches on some very relatable, tender points regarding the early stages of life and coming of age.The entire movie is wrapped around the vague notion of Grimm's fairy tales and though it doesn't attempt to draw any direct metaphors, they certainly allude to them along the way.This is the first movie in almost 10 years that I've intentionally watched multiple times in the theatre. It's an experience and it's as enjoyable the second time as the first.Highly recommended.

2012-05-18 22:36:19

Will not miss your heart

Having been trained, almost from birth, to be an assassin by Erik(Bana), her father, Hanna (Ronan) is now on a mission to kill CIA AgentMarissa (Blanchett). For the reasons, you will have to watch the movie. Having seen the promos, I knew Hanna would be a killing machine. I tookher to be either 12 or 19 as she had those moments and is probablysomewhere in the middle, but what do I know?I was hoping for a teenage Jason Bourne and there were some of thosemoments, but not enough. The movie bogs itself down when Hanna attachesherself to a family on vacation in Morocco. That was probably to showher loneliness in wanting to have a friend and she finds one in Sophie(Barden). Hanna is not aware of all the technology in the known world and itshows when she gets a room for the night; but when in town, she goesinto a store with WiFi and masters the computer like she lived andbreathed it every teenage day. Go figure, but not a deal breaker. We all know the music in any movie associates with what is happening onthe screen, but in here you are in for quite a treat. This is hard toexplain but music almost becomes what you see on the screen. Like Isaid, hard to explain. Very good. Kudos. The entire cast performed well, but Cate Blanchett should stay awayfrom roles like a tough, unforgiving CIA Agent. Oh, she did okay, butyou could tell this was not her cup of tea. Miscast? Hmmmm………The cinematography and photography are outstanding, especially in thebeginning when you gaze upon trees heavy with snow. You almost wishedthe camera would have lingered longer. The scenes were that good. You like Hanna and wish her the best and hope she finds the answers toher questions as to who she really is, as well as finding Marissa. Youwill see her skill with all kinds of weapons, but has a tendency tomiss the heart of the intended target, but she finds a way to take careof that. All in all, she will get to you. I would like to see a movie with Hanna meeting Jason Bourne. HA !Violence: Yes.\ Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Only one F-bomb washeard somewhere in the beginning.

2012-05-17 23:28:50

Awesome!!!

This review is from: Hanna [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Hanna if fresh and cool. Eric Bana was well cast and the actress is PERFECT..she is very convincing and cool. There has to be another Hanna or it would be a tragedy....she was so cool..I see a at least a trilogy...

2012-05-17 05:17:03

Awesome film, very stylish. Saoirse Ronan is fantastic.

Very, very impressed with this film at the cinema. Great visuals, good acting and an excellent plot. Strangely I've never completed watching any of the Bourne films but this film gives me the incentive. I think Saoirse Ronan is going to be one of the leading actresses of the future. Recommended. If you're not sure of purchasing you can always use Instant Video or Netflix.Cheers

2012-05-16 21:16:23

Disappointing - enough with the arty overlay

This review is from: Hanna (Amazon Instant Video) The film had a great concept but in many places the execution was poor. Often became aware of cast acting and the scenes looked very manufactured. What a shame considering the cast available. The pace was so often stalled with arty sections that the whole pace was painfully disjointed.

2012-05-16 17:06:38

Excellent movie

This review is from: Hanna (DVD) This was a great movie. I really like the difference or the point of view of the presentation. Spy film, yes; action/adventure, absolutely; same old/same old, heck no! Pretty good price too!