Hanna

Directed by Joe Wright, Ardustry Pictures, 2011. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, and Cate Blanchett.

Genre: Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller.

Question: When you think "Action" movie, you picture large biceped, balding men with ridiculous one-liners, don't you? Now try imagining a 14 year-old, bleach-blonde girl with piercing blue eyes as the action "hero". Yep, doesn't work, but if you give Hanna a chance this young hero will knock Stallone, Willis and, Schwarzenegger off their thrones.

Now to be honest with you, I just watched Hanna in the theaters with my first D-BOX experience. What is D-BOX? Well, it is a theater seat with motion effects that is specifically programmed for each movie that will help intensify your movie-going experience. It shakes, leans, vibrates with each punch, shot, and some extreme camera angles to make you feel like you are right there in the story. It was so cool! (Yeah, that's me in the D-BOX seat! - I am such a movie geek)

Now back to the story: Hanna is a movie about a young girl on the run from the government and that's all I am going to say about the plot. Yes, this kind of tale has been told before, but the way the filmmakers approached Hanna made it different and extremely enjoyable. I am glad to say that they could have easily gone down the path of 3D - like so many other movies today but chose not to - whew! Instead, the filmmakers took close-ups to the extreme to visually draw you into the story. Thank you!!

To bring you in even further into the story, all the audio effects during all the fights scenes weren't just sounds of fists and bodies colliding. Sure there was some of that, but The Chemical Brothers scored Hanna with music that mimicked the emotions of each sequence. The score intensified and legitimized the scenes. And all this, mixed in the seat's movements, allowed the escapism experience to truly take over. This is the way to see a movie!!

Soarise Ronan played Hanna and she pulled off a believable action hero. How, you ask? Because nothing was too over-the-top. The acting, the fighting or even the emotions this young talent produced were all choreographed to be something a 14 year-old could actually do - albeit one that was trained from a young age.

Eric Bana also did a good job, but when has he not? It was actually Cate Blanchett's character, the antagonist in Hanna, that really helped balance the story. She plays the government agent who tries to find Hanna. Her slim figure, extreme Southern drawl and cold, but terrified demeanor allowed even more believability to the film. Great casting!!

I could go on and on about how much I liked this movie but I will shut up and let you all see for yourselves. And do try to see it in a D-BOX seat - totally worth it!

My favorite thing: How they began and ended the movie.

My least favorite thing: There were a few minor things not fully answered but I think that means it is open to a sequel.

Did the previews show too much? No, not really. Most of it shows just the beginning parts. Good job on these previews.

Rating: PG-13
Length: 111 minutes

Review: 8 out of 10