Erik has been off the grid with Hanna for 14 years, and is a former CIA agent, one the CIA very much wants to find. Particularly, his handler, Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett) needs to find him to close the book on an operation that got very messy some years back and Hanna is at the crux of it all.
After turning on a transponder so they can be located, Erik and Hanna agree to meet up at a designated location in Berlin once Hanna has eliminated Weigler, but the job is not quite as easy as Erik and Hanna may have thought it to be. When Hanna is taken to a compound deep underground in Morocco, things go awry and she must use her wits and murderous capabilities to escape. Once free, she meets up with a nomadic European family and becomes friends with the daughter, Sophie (Jessica Barden) and the young son, Miles (Aldo Maland), who develops a crush on Hanna. Unbeknownst to all but Miles, Hanna stows away in their van and travels with them cross-country in her attempts to get to Berlin, but little does she know that Marissa has enlisted old friend and hired killer Isaacs (Tom Hollander) and his crew to locate her and bring her in. Marissa doesn't want Hanna dead, but instead wants to possess her because of her incredible abilities, but this doesn't make the chase any less deadly.
Marissa's pursuit of Hanna leads her across Europe, all the while the pulsing sounds of The Chemical Brothers are going in the background, matching up seamlessly with the sound effects of the events going on around them. The final showdown occurs in an eerie, rundown amusement park in Berlin, alluding to the fairytale allegory that winds its way through the entire story, with Marissa as the wicked witch with her shock of red hair and green apparel, Erik as the strong woodsman protecting his child, and Hanna as the elusive yet dangerous prey.
Hanna is a chase movie, at its heart. There is a mystery entwined in the storyline, as you learn how and why Hanna came to be and why Marissa is relentlessly seeking her and Erik, but it is secondary to the breathless pursuit. In addition to the exciting soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers, there are a number of visually arresting scenes in Hanna, specifically during her time in the wilds of Finland and her cross-country travels. I really liked the contrast of the winter white vistas in Finland against the sweltering oranges of Morocco, and finally the eclectic colors and patterns of the urban landscapes in Berlin. Hanna is definitely a film that revels in its high def treatment.
Cate Blanchett is always stellar in her acting roles, but I must admit I wasn't a fan of her Texas accent in Hanna. She was still stone cold in her role and pulled it off flawlessly. Eric Bana was quite believable as Erik and Tom Hollander as Isaacs was hate-worthy and almost a caricature of a bad guy, but it worked. The real star in Hanna is Saoirse Ronan and while I haven't seen her in much, she is fantastic as Hanna. Badass and beautiful, haunting and deadly, she pulls off this role with acting chops far beyond her young years. It was also quite nice to see the lovely Olivia Williams (The Dollhouse) again, even if her role was a small one.
Special features are well done and enjoyable. They include an alternate ending and some deleted scenes (all of which I wish had been included in the film), audio commentary with director Joe Wright, as well as featurettes on The Chemical Brothers' soundtrack, Ronan's physical training for her role, the allegory behind Hanna's story, the dissection of a particular scene and finally, one on the filming locations of Hanna.
While Hanna is not the best action film ever, it is a fun ride. The ending left me a bit unsatisfied, as it had closure, per se, but not enough closure for my tastes. However, it is still well worth watching and if you are a fan of special features, about half of the ones found on the Blu-ray are exclusives, so be sure to snag the high def version over the standard DVD.
