Hanna

Movie Name: Hanna
Year of Release: 2011
Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng, Jessica Barden, Aldo Maland
Genre: Action, Thriller, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6

Synopsis:
Following the little seen "The Soloist" with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx, Joe Wright changes gears and direction with "Hanna", which can be considered his first action film. The film follows the story of young Hanna, who has been raised in an isolated cabin in the icy areas of Finland, by her father Erik. Erik is a rogue agent who has been training Hanna to be as resourceful and capable as him, in all matters of combat and general capabilities as far as military intelligence goes. Hanna longs to find out more about the world, but she knows she has a formidable foe to tackle: Marissa Viegler, the agent responsible for the death of her mother.  Hanna sets out to the world with Marissa on her tail, to the final confontration where Hanna finally knows more about who she is.
Joe Wright is an interesting director with a unique aesthetic and capable of great performances from his casts, which is the case with Hanna. However where the film again falters is in the screenplay. There are scenes that exist and prolong themselves needlessly, which add nothing to uncover the main characters, who remain till the end very thinly expanded (namely Marissa and Eric). Hanna goes through the process of understanding the menaces of the world, but above all, she tries to understand who she is and where she comes from. Joe Wright oscillates between wanting to explore the evolution of a young girl to womanhood and the concept of the ruthless killer that she can be (as if she's a young Nikita). In the end the film doesn't opt for any of those directions, trying to be a hybrid, that never is really solid enough to make the film as compelling as it could have been. Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchett are both fantastic and make the film worth watching, though sadly this could have been a much better film.