Hanna

I love the original script, but the film stutter steps around a little bit with a pacing issue. The film's first hour is as good as any this year; however, once it moves on to the middle third of the movie, it changes from action mode and frenetic pace to more of a wondrous adolescent coming of age experience. Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) was raised in the frigid woods of the north by her father (Eric Bana) since she was a baby. She has every outdoor, hunting, and fighting skill imaginable. She also speaks at least five languages. Unfortunately, Hanna was not exposed to certain modern characteristics such as electricity and loud noises. Because of this particular education deficit, the audience must endure Hanna's first frightening (and boring) experiences with the civilized world. How Hanna and her father arrived in the woods is revealed to the audience through bits and pieces in flashbacks. The role of the antagonist is effectively played by Cate Blanchett. She is so deliberately evil and singled minded that her character from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comes to mind.

I wonder if the pacing issue is a result of Joe Wright's direction considering this is his first action film. He is paired with Ronan again (the two worked together on Atonement) and she is able to pull off the incredibly difficult role of a physically small, but lethal, young teenager.  However, even this young Jason Bourne does not have the power to save the middle third of this otherwise fine movie.