Movie Review: Hanna

From Joe Wright, director of Atonement (2007) and Pride and Prejudice (2005), comes Hanna: a thinly disguised fairytale about a young girl trained to be an assassin chasing vengeance against a shady government agent.

Beginning in the snowy wilderness of Finland, Erik Heller (Eric Bana) and his daughter Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) live off the land until the day when Hanna believes she is ready to take on the task of hunting down Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett). Letting the Government capture her as her father escapes, she breaks out of a Government facility in Morocco and ends up hitchhiking with an English family. At the same time Marissa Weigler is trying to locate Erik, and sends sadistic serial jumpsuit-wearer Isaacs (Tom Hollander) to track down Hanna.

The character driven narrative is pleasingly European

Powered by wonderful performances, Ronan is totally engaging and Hollander is suitably creepy as the masochistic mercenary; Hanna is a gripping, if slightly disjointed, chase film. The locales are a little trite at times with the overtly friendly locals and native dances and songs that seem to add nothing to the plot; and the film is full with weird accents: nobody quite nailing their chosen language. However despite these minor points the film runs along at a satisfying pace and the action scenes are just as intriguing and beautifully choreographed as the tragic elements and heart that the narrative throws in for good measure. The Chemical Brother’s score is worth note too for its often tense, occasionally obtuse backing; furthering the film’s eclectic and uniquely European style. Films like 2006’s The Lives of Others and Tell No One share its stark sensibilities. Director Joe Wright’s previous productions have gone from average to overwrought, with Atonement making a modern classic into a monumentally boring exercise in missing the point, despite Hanna’s own Saoirse Ronan giving a barnstorming performance as one of literature’s greatest unwitting villains, Briony Tallis. It is interesting then that Hanna is so stylistically arresting, given the director’s penchant for by-numbers adaptations; and the film certainly sets Wright as a British director to watch.

All things considered Hanna as a chase film with heart is top tier, but given the dearth of intelligent thrillers in the cinema right now Hanna is almost required viewing for any fan of character driven action.

Movie Review: Thor

Thor was always going to be a difficult sell. In the final ultimate super group Marvel Avengers film the Asgard demi-god will be joining forces with tech genius Iron Man, the radiation bloated Hulk and 40’s throwback Captain America; all of which have some grounds in earth-bound science fiction. Thor however is, as the name suggests, a being from another realm: bearer of a mighty hammer and son of Odin who can fly, level buildings and travel through space all without the aid of a suit of improbably powerful computer aided armour, being blasted with gamma radiation or being the result of genetic enhancement. The point is Thor is an alien with all the powers of a god, whereas his peers are humans with powers grounded in scientific experimentation: and in this age of realism based superhero movies like Iron Man (2008) and D.C.’s The Dark Knight (2008), Thor’s flights of fancy may be too fantastical for people to really accept.

Just as Thor (an improbably good-looking Chris Hemsworth), in the realm of Asgard somewhere out in space, is about to take his rightful place as king from his aged father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), the Asgardian’s ancient enemies the Frost Giants break into the Royal Palace and try to steal a powerful weapon. Despite the fact that they fail Thor takes it upon himself to make his way to the Frost Giant’s realm and try to destroy any scent of rebellion within the their ranks. Upon taking the fight to them Odin, who had forbidden his involvement, rescues Thor and his companions, only to strip Thor of his power for his disobedience and cast him down to earth as a mortal. Upon landing he meets physicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman; getting around isn’t she?) and his journey for redemption begins.

The first act of Thor is back story, setting up Thor’s rise and fall and in general the pontificating and CGI battles are pretty dull, with Anthony Hopkins’ Odin chewing up the scenery in true Shakespearean style. And the Shakespearean style is by no means an accident: director Kenneth Branagh cut his teeth making adaptations and in some ways is a strange choice to direct such a mainstream superhero blockbuster. Once the action is taken to earth however Branagh’s style is truly what makes the film. The fish out of water comedy works wonderfully, with Hemsworth smashing mugs of coffee shouting “ANOTHER!” when he finishes and striding into a Pet Shop and demanding to be given a horse. The opening act is only given any sort of scale once we reach earth, and the battles seem much weightier once Thor becomes a mortal. The cast are reasonably charming and once the opening section is over the comedy and action scenes are excellent; leading to cosmic battle that serves as a satisfying conclusion. Better than The Incredible Hulk (2008) and well in the same league as Iron Man, Thor serves as a meaty introduction to what could have been an incredibly problematic character to introduce: due to Branagh’s masterful comic direction and a likeable cast of misfits.