Hanna might hold a record in the long, storied history of the cinema — the movie with the most chase sequences without a single one being mildly cool or interesting.
Not a good record to own, but boiled down, Hanna is just one long chase with lots of meaningless action, little plot and absolutely no surprises.
Saoirse Ronan stars as the titular character, a teenage killing machine taught all the tricks of the assassin trade by her strict but loving father, Eric (Eric Bana), while living in a secluded cabin somewhere in Finland. One day, for whatever reason, he decides she’s “ready,” brings out a switch and tells her to flick it when she feels the time is right.
After a day of contemplation, she does, and all hell proceeds to break loose. The CIA, led by a ruthless agent named Marissa (Cate Blanchett), is suddenly after the two, who separate with a plan to meet back up in Berlin.
Confused? I was, too. But it only got worse as the chase ensued, and the audience is left behind. Hanna tries to keep us in the dark so some big surprise can be sprung on us. Instead, we’re left waiting for the light bulb to come on by a script that seems half-finished. Why does the CIA want them? Why do they have to split up? Why do I care?
The major overall problem is that this just isn’t director Joe Wright’s kind of material. Directing Pride and Prejudice and Atonement doesn’t exactly season one for a violent actioner, even if it’s of the bland PG-13 variety. Wright is a talent, and his polished visual style and trademark long shots spruce Hanna up, but he’s obviously outside his comfort zone.
Worst of all, Wright attempted to gloss over the holes with a Chemical Brothers soundtrack that is just way too much about half an hour in. Yes, everybody loved Trent Reznor’s Social Network score, but that doesn’t mean copycats will work with everything.
The film’s saving grace is a terrific supporting cast, led by Wright-favorite Tom Hollander as an eccentric mercenary and Olivia Williams (always to be known as Ms. Cross from Rushmore) as the matriarch of a family on holiday with whom Hanna comes into contact. While the stars do a satisfactory job, as Hollander and Williams show, in this case for being on screen, less is more.
Looking back, it’s easy to see what Hanna was trying to be — a cool new update of the adrenaline-pumping, revenge killer genre, a Kill Bill: Vol. 1/2. All it turned out to be was not worth seeing.
Cameron Dunbar is a sophomore studying journalism. Disagree? Don’t shoot the messenger, send him an email at cd211209@ohiou.edu.
