Hanna (2011)

If you look at the number of action movies that have a female protagonist and compare it to the number of action movies starring men you will notice that there are not that many female action heroes. With Alien James Cameron showed that women can be vulnerable, but at the same time are able to handle guns and fight evil. This meant more females in these type of roles, but if you´d ask me to name female action stars I´d probably be done pretty quickly. The only woman I would be able to mention is Angelina Jolie who has shown she can kick ass with the Tomb Raider movies, Salt and Wanted.

Hanna (played by Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones)) the next action hero. She´s only 16, but has been raised in solitude in the north of Finland by her father (Eric Bana). They live in a desolated area where no other people are around and they survive by hunting. Her father is constantly testing Hanna to see if she´s able to defend herself. All her knowledge comes from her father and an encyclopedia. She has never heard any music and has had no contact with anyone except her father. It´s no surprise that there is a moment where she starts to get curious about the world and wants to discover it. Her father helps her to get in contact with the outside world. Her first experience isn´t a positive one and it´s the start of a journey through Europe filled with suspense and action.

It doesn´t take long to realise that Hanna is a real “killing machine” who you really don´t want to get angry. Her goal is to reach Germany to meet up with her father and there doesn´t seem to be anything or anyone that can stop her. The CIA (headed by Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett)) tries to track her (and her father) down.

The fact that Hanna sees the real world for the first time gives her journey something magical. She hears music for the first time, is frightened by a TV and speaks to other people from different cultures. If I would have to compare it to another movie I´d probably describe it as an adult version of Enchanted with lots of fighting. Saoirse Ronan is excellent in this as she manages to convincingly show her amazement at new things, some innocence and of course her skills when she´s being attacked. Her character is someone you will care for.

The movie looks amazing (there is a scene in a building underground, which was beautifully shot and lit) and offers almost non stop action. The ending was unexpected and sudden, but because of that I liked it. Currently this is a movie that´s in my best of the year list, but there are still some months to go this year to find out if it will remain there. Highly recommended!

Score: 9