Hanna [review]

I was intrigued in the beginning with the synopsis, as always, I love spy movies or assassination. And hence, I can't help but be a bit reminded of Salt (Angeline Jolie) when I first watched this.

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a young girl, raised by her father Erik Heller (Eric Bana) in the Arctic, trained mentally and physically every single day for one mission : To kill Marrisa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett). We were convinced to think that Erik and Hanna were the good guys and Marrise the bad right from the start. Also, once Hanna convinced her father that she was ready to take on Marrisa, both went on separate ways as Hanna waited for Marrisa to come get her, which of course happened but Hanna killed the wrong person. No, Marrisa was far too smart to let herself be the first bait. Erik then receives a postcard from Hanna saying "The Witch is Dead"...but soon, when men came after him, he knew the chase was not over.

The middle half of the show were kind of laidback actually. Not much action was offered frankly and viewers hoping for some kickass moves will definitely be disappointed. I know I did. Salt was far better in that aspect. In an otherwise grim movie, I am however thankful for some comic relief. The traveling family Hanna met at the desert provided essential humorous moments. Some of their conversations were brilliantly executed.

We also were revealed by the medical record Marrisa had of Hanna when she was held in the beginning that Hanna was abnormal. Furthermore, Hanna's mother was somehow involved in some kind of secret program that would give her stronger babies, which eventually resulted in her death (killed by Marrisa).

Great hair by the way, Eric

 Without giving too much spoilers, I must say that I nearly gave up on this movie 20 mins into the movie. I couldn't bring myself to look at her extremely pale complexion and the frizzy hair. I just wished they could've made her look more attractive? I do know that it was deliberate, but something like this can really turn some audience off, at least I nearly was.

But I stuck with it and things got better after that.

Cate in the villain role

Overall:

Don't watch this if you're looking for some really nice action, because like I said, Salt definitely offers more, even in terms of story. However, it's not to say that it's bad, because frankly, it's not. Not when the imdb ratings is pretty high. Maybe I just expected too much from it. I was hoping for some badass action, but the trailer was misleading. More than half of the movie was all about the journey Hanna makes, with baddies following her, but worth mentioning action, no. I wanted more of Eric's screentime but let's face it, it's about Hanna, even the title is her name, so there wasn't much room for Eric. Cate doesn't convince me enough in her villainous role. Too tame.

Rating: 3.8/5