Movies.ie

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• Currently 4/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

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Having been taught by her father out in the wilds of Finland to be the perfect killing machine, 16-year old Hanna Heller (Ronan) is finally ready to be captured by the CIA – so she can kill corrupt agent Marissa Wiegler (Blanchett). Which might just help him clear pop’s name,  only Marissa guesses the plan, and with a dead body double in her wake, Hanna is on the loose…

THE VERDICT: The great Saoirse Ronan goes somewhat Kick-Ass in this taut chase thriller that boasts more twists and turns than a Fianna Fail TD doing the hucklebuck. Given that Ronan is often tipped as the new Cate Blanchett, their casting opposite one another is inspired. And even if director Wright (Atonement, The Soloist) does tend to go for the pretty more than the gritty in his pictures, Hanna is still a damn fine thrill ride.

Review by Paul Byrne 

• Avg User rating
• Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

• • Currently 1/5 Stars.

  Massman

  

  Wow, I thought this was terrible... and it was kind of filmed in a creepy way..

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  adoreabubbles

  

  Good movie, one I might watch again. I enjoyed the characters, cate blanchett really plays a good baddy!

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  ssconnolly

  

  In Hanna, Saoirse Ronan plays the titular character, a 16 year-old girl who has spent almost her entire life in isolation in a remote part of Finland. This once innocent girl has been transformed into an extremely dangerous killing machine by her father, an ex-CIA agent. Her childhood replaced with intense training, all with the aim to make her the ultimate assassin so that she may one day get revenge for the death of her mother. One day her father decides she is ready for her mission, and sends her into the world for the first time to complete it. She stealthily travels across Europe on her mission, but once she starts to experience new sensations in the real world things become more complicated and Hanna is led to question her existence and her humanity. A lot of reviews have been praising this film as a modern day Leon, and in fairness the films do share some similarities, specifically with their stories. That being said Hanna doesn't become entirely focused on the father-daughter assassin idea and what I really loved about Hanna was where Wright took this film after the first act. He made this more than just a film about assassins and for a lot of the film we don't see a highly trained teenage assassin on a revenge mission, but rather the story of a young girl who, having spent all her life in isolation, comes to terms with the world around her. She is thrown into a world she is completely ignorant to and we see her first encounters with electricity, music and friendship. It's these moments which provide the film with some emotional depth, add some humanity to a character which had previously been seen as just a highly trained killing machine. I've never been the biggest fan of director Joe Wright. Atonement was impressive, but his Pride and Prejudice remake was dull and The Soloist, which I had such high hopes for, was bitterly disappointing. So though Hanna sounded great on paper, initially I wasn't sure what to think. Now having seen the final product I can say that Hanna is very different to his previous films, and also a lot better in my opinion. With the kind of period piece films he has been known to do he doesn't get a lot of opportunities to experiment but in Hanna, Wright gets more chances to show off and he creates a nice style. At times in his past works he has included long tracking shots, most notably in the Dunkirk beach scene in Atonement, and he uses these throughout Hanna very effectively. Some of the most memorable moments were one-take scenes which had me on the edge of my seat. Also he uses music very impressively throughout. The films score, composed entirely by The Chemical Brothers, is outstanding. It acts as the perfect background noise to the on-screen action. At times it even creates, or at the very least adds to the films tense and exciting atmosphere. The cast of the film are very impressive. Saoirse Ronan is phenomenal as the titular character. It's rare you see a young star who shows the kind of level of dedication to a role as Ronan. She plays the character perfectly and nails every aspect of the role, from the accent down to the fight sequences. Eric Bana is very good as Hanna's father/trainer, but his ear is obviously not as keen as Ronan's as he does don a fairly dodgy German accent throughout. As for the 'bad' guys, Tom Hollander and Cate Blanchett both put in some great displays. Blanchett is especially impressive, somehow bringing something new to the now all too common Texan villain. So all in all Hanna is an exciting, stylish and very entertaining film. It has just about enough action to please the people expecting a lot of it, but has a lot more to offer. More a story of a young girl robbed of a childhood than a revenge story involving a teenage assassin, Hanna is more dramatic and emotional than expected. The film is arguably Joe Wright's finest film and he has made his most visually creative, engaging and ultimately impressive film to date. He keeps the film gripping throughout with stunning visuals, constant twists and turns, a cool style and some interesting themes. This year so many films I've been really looking forward to haven't lived up to expectations, but Hanna exceeded my expectations and for that reason I would highly recommend it.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  Mr_Twist

  

  she runs and she runs and she shoots and she runs and she runs and theres a deer metaphor enjoyable but the soundtrack makes this movie

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  mart

  

  Wright proves himself a skilled action director, handling the kinetic requirements of the admittedly fairly routine material with a deft hand, aided entirely by solid performances and a killer soundtrack from The Chemical Brothers

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  ging-grr

  

  So they were using the name "Leon" on the poster, brave choice to compare to a movie so strong. Happily the comparison holds up well in this fast paced thriller. Saoirse Ronan is excellent as the lead character and Eric Bana manages to pull off a great performance even with having to concentrate on putting on a pretty believable German accent too. I found it hard to find fault with this and I even considered giving 5 stars, however I have to admit it was a little predictable. Definitely well worth a look.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  plantman

  

  I wasnt too sure about this one, i came out and didnt know if i enjoyed it or not, it was mediocre at best, however saorse ronan played a great part and is seriously going places, i just felt it lacked edge and could have been a bit more action in it

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  vav89

  

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  KennethAndrew

  

  A very enjoyable watch but with no real conclusion

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  jen:D

  

• • Currently 5/5 Stars.

  Ghall

  

  Really great movie. I'm not a great fan of Saoirse Ronan but still enjoyed the movie!

• • Currently 5/5 Stars.

  hazelsoraghan

  

  Really good, different story. the soundtrack is awesome! saoirse is really good in this film.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  Damirion

  

  Overall, the movie is fine, though the unclear character motivation was a bit confusing and detracted from the overall enjoyment. The movies starts off very strongly and it's an interesting, although previously used, concept , but as the movies moves on it's ruined. The characters are poorly developed and I felt that I didn't really care about any of them and I was a bit confused as to what the point of her whole "quest " was. However, Ronan is very good in it and the Chemical Brothers soundtrack is incredible!

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  vu1999uk

  

  Saoirse Ronan is outstanding in this excellent thriller, which has a great plot and some really good set pieces. Manages to inject some humour as well without forcing it.

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  JohnnyDeppFan188

  

  this film is great i really enjoyed it its different from most action/thrillers i have seen the way its shot is unique saoirse ronan is and amazing actress she is my fav actress . The film is not paced well some bits are rushed and some drag on for too long but the film is still great a must see btw if you dont like watching people getting killed up close this film is not for you

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