Child or teenage female assassins are all the rage at the moment. Remember Hit Girl in Kick-Ass? One of my personal favourites goes back before that with Buffy the Vampire Slayer but before I’m drawn down that road I will review the new film Hanna.
You shouldn’t really be thinking about the arresting icy landscapes when you first see Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) the trained teen killer, but you do. She shoots a stag with an arrow but she doesn’t quite hit the target – the heart. Her perfectionist father (Eric Bana) lets her know that it’s not quite good enough. He has trained her to kill in a snow-swept forest far from civilisation.
Everything explodes when Hanna is launched onto her solo mission to take out the CIA’s Marissa (Cate Blanchett) who has historical reasons for wanting Hanna and her father dead. Hanna travels around the world after fighting off the CIA. She’s a novice to modern technology – even electricity amazes her, but she can certainly handle a weapon or fight without one if necessary. On her journey, she also starts developing friendships by tagging along with a British family.
A booming soundtrack from the Chemical Brothers accompanies the action. Saoirse gives a polished performance, as does Eric. The ending’s a little weak and it’s not an earth-shattering plot but you’ll be involved and gripped throughout.
Cherrydial 