I have nothing but praise to sing for Hanna. Hanna is one of those rare movies that I became aware of early in development, became instantly excited to see, and wasn’t disappointed by when I was finally able to watch it.

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is 16 years old. She is bright, inquisitive, and a devoted daughter. Uniquely, she has the strength, the stamina, and the smarts of a soldier; these come from being raised by her widowed father Erik (Eric Bana), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of North Finland. Erik has taught Hanna to hunt, put her through extreme self-defense workouts, and home-schooled her with only an encyclopedia and a book of fairy tales. Hanna’s upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. But soon Hanna’s training must come to an end, and she must face the real world, and the enemy she has trained her whole life to face.

Hanna, for me, was a tale of tragic innocence. All Hanna knows of the world is what she has been told or has read, has had no social interaction with any other person other than her father, and has never even hear music. She is, in a sense, a pure innocent. A person entering the world with no cause to harm anyone, who is hunted simply for being who, and what she is. Hanna is a killing machine, yes, it’s all she knows, but she is as gentle and delicate as a snowflake.

All the characters in Hanna have been expertly cast. Eric Bana does an excellent job as Hanna’s dutiful father, Saoirse Ronan brings the necessary fragility to the character of Hanna, and Cate Blanchett (whom I usually despise) does an excellent job as Hanna’s lifelong hunter.

I have to mention briefly how refreshing it was to watch crisp, well directed, action scenes. In a world of transformers and shaky cam shots, it’s great to see a movie using proper choreography, long shots, and for f’s sake, a tripod.

Some of you reading may already know this, but the film’s score is composed by the Chemical Brothers. And all I can say to that is: wow. Hanna’s soundtrack is done incredibly well, and it brings more atmosphere, and a slicker feel to the movie than both the actors and the cinematography.

The stylized characters and locations, the perfectly suited soundtrack, the great acting talent and direction, are what turn Hanna from what is essentially a cliched revenge movie plot, into a modern masterpiece. What more can I say? Hanna is a film done right.

Hanna receives 6 out of 6 from me, and my official seal of approval. Go see Hanna.

Jack Kelleher writes a blog, and it is awful. http://kelleblog.tumblr.com/