Zoe: So Hanna is one of those scary white people with no eyebrows (the only other one I can think of is this guy from Cold Mountain and he totally creeps me out) who has been raised by her equally creepy but really hot Eric Bana dad somewhere where there’s lots of snow. She’s been trained by said creepy Eric Bana for a mission against a Texas-y CIA agent played by Cate Blanchett. But when she takes on the mission, it becomes clear that nobody is what they seem, secrets are abounding, Germans are scary, and there’s lots of running and shaky camera work.
The above is why Zoe doesn’t normally write the summaries.
Scotty: Excuses...excuses... The last summary I did used the phrase “blah blah blah CIVIL LIBERTIES.”
Ok, first thoughts. Go.
HANNA What a roller coaster of a movie. That movie was so much fun. And the soundtrack was amazing. It’s still playing in my head. What was your impression?
The soundtrack was like sitting in a Euro Disco watching people fight. My honest first impression was: at what point in your CIA manhunt is it time to ditch the heels for some sensible shoes? Also, we’ve been hanging out too much; I’ve got you saying movie now.
I use them interchangeably. Also, I think the heels added a lot to the presentation of Cate Blanchett’s character.
I don’t really have all that much to say about Hanna. I felt it was a really well shot, acted and put together movie, if a bit predictable.
Well, you could talk about the visuals. Aside from the shaky cam which you hated so much, I feel this film had an interesting use of visuals. For an action film, it’s very pretty.
I had almost forgotten about the shaky cam. Thanks.
I thought it was cool, but I don’t get motion sickness from a screen.
I hate shaky cam. I get it: you want to make the audience feel like they’re in the thick of it with the characters. However, when you’re shaking it so much that I can’t see what’s going on, it kind of defeats the purpose. Now, I’m not saying all shaky cam is bad. Controlled use of it can look quite nice. Just don’t have your cameraman sprint with a camera. This isn’t Cloverfield; you don’t need to run.
I liked it. So, nyeh.
Let’s also talk about the plot a bit more... It’s not very complicated, though I thought it had an interesting Tabula Rasa thing going on. (This is a disclaimer: I am not a philosopher and i may be using this term in an inappropriate manner.) It’s fascinating to see this girl whose father taught her to skin a deer but didn’t bother to tell her what an electric kettle was encounter the world for the first time. In some parts, it plays like something from National Geographic, only with more violence.
I forgot the movie was PG-13 when we went in, so I kept expecting brains, bloods, guts, and protruding projectiles from people’s bodies, but the violence was actually pretty tame (sort of) with most of it happening off screen. But speaking of unmet expectations......the ending.
Don’t spoil it...
I’m going to do my best here but if you don’t want anything spoiled, skip this paragraph. I’m not going to refer to plot points specifically but just be warned. Basically, there’s no twist. The rest of the movie was so creative visually that I sat there waiting for the plot to mirror that, but it never did. There was no Cloud City grand reveal; the movie just kind of ended. And hey, maybe that was the point, a “there are no twist endings in life” type of thing, but I expected more from you, Joe Wright. The biggest twist is revealed in the movie trailer.
…..I can’t think of what to say next. It’s hard to review good movies. I guess most of our reviews are just us bitching about what were didn’t like. Even the twist ending letdown was only because Blanchett’s character had a complicated relationship with the protagonist. When asked in the film if she ever had children she responded with a pained smile and that she’s “made choices.” In a twisted way, she developed a maternal admiration for Hanna.
All the character relationships are done really well in this movie. So in short, see this movie, it’s awesome and totally worth your $11.
Agreed. But, since this is a late review, be sure to catch it before it leaves theaters.
4 comments:
This is the best movie review ever!!!
No mention of the movie's preoccupation with eyes? Or feet? Or the rave dance party disguised as escaping from a government installation? Or the dubious lesbian relationship? The daughter of the tourist family was my favorite character in the whole movie, as a matter of fact.
How was it a dubious lesbian relationship?
It was dubious because she may or may not have been a lesbian! Hanna was basically sexless... not as far as her gender identity, but her awareness of romance and sex. There's no indicator that she has anything resembling a concept of sexual identity... she doesn't see boys or girls that way. Or does she? She is only beginning to assemble a concept of friendship, which may or may not be developing in parallel to her concept of romantic love. The British girl was into it. I don't know if Hanna was.
That's why it was dubious.
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