“Hanna” is an ingenious and surreal thriller that blends action, suspense and sentimentality from “Pride and Prejudice” and “Atonement” director Joe Wright.  Before viewing, I really had doubts if Joe Wright could make a thriller since his previous works have been period-pieces, such as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Atonement”. Not that there is anything wrong with that because those two films are superb but I didn’t know how he would execute it. Let’s also not forget to mention that his other film, “The Soloist”, was kind of a step back, so that kind of added to my doubts. However, I was dead wrong and Joe Wright proves he can really make action/thriller film.

As the film opens we see our title character Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) in the forest, stealthily watching a deer. This scene helps sets up the tone of the film. After killing it and picking through its dead corpse, we see a man walking up behind her and they engage in combat. It is then revealed that the man is actually her father, Erik Heller, played by Eric Bana. He and Hanna live in complete isolation in the snow covered forests in Finland. Erik has been training Hanna to become an assassin and has basically cut her off from modern society. So she has never seen another human (beside her father), she is trained physically (she can fight like a ninja), and mentally (she speak many languages fluently) and Erik thinks the time has come. One day, Erik thinks that Hanna is ready to begin her mission (or in other words, go into the “real world”).  So when Erik leaves, Hanna sets off a transmitter and her location is revealed to a corrupt CIA agent Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett).  After being captured, Hanna escapes and it starts a cat and mouse chase because Wiegler wants Hanna dead, while Erik begins a quest to find and protect his daughter.

This is not an ordinary thriller film, instead it’s a hybrid of fairy-tale like elements and action; this is what the movie “Sucker Punch” tried to be but failed to do. Plus “Hanna” doesn’t use an overabundance of CGI. Instead it uses extremely well choreographed stunts and fight sequences; this is where the picture is at its strong point. Those fight sequences were slick, stylish and you actually  care about the characters more. An example would be when Hanna escapes the government facility; any other movie would have made a mindless piece but Joe Wright cleverly makes the chase scenes exciting, riveting and suspenseful; he knows how to keep your adrenaline going. Also the performances are strong especially from Saoirse Ronan. She is so quietly intimidating but yet so sweet and likable at the same time; her performance is practically subtle. Plus Cate Blanchett turns in a devious performance; she also is intimidating but uses a little bit more exposition then Ronan’s character but still good never-the-less.

However besides my praise for the beauty of the action, I also had a fascination for Hanna character in the picture as well. Hanna has never been to the “outside world” and watching her go out into the real world is intriguing to watch. So if you look deeper, the film’s real story is about a coming-of age tale then an action film.

“Hanna” is a very good film and is one of the better films in the young year because of its strong performances, well choreographed fight scenes and suspenseful chase scenes. Like I said before, I also like how they blended fairly-tale like elements and action.  I have always enjoyed Joe Wright’s craftsmanship and he makes a very good action/thriller film because of its fascinating tale about this particular character and his work on a technical level. This is more of art-house thriller film, which I am glad to see because it’s not one of those mindless action movies. This one is stealthily-paced, suspenseful and actually has something interesting to say; unlike those dull action movies like “Sucker Punch” and “Battle: Los Angeles” were they were mindless and didn’t have anything interesting to say. But “Hanna” dose, that’s why it’s very good.

***1/2|PG-13|111 Minutes