This is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen. Even in the most bizarre works of David Lynch, John Waters, The Coen Brothers, Spike Jonze, Tom Tykwer, and Charlie Kaufman, there's a consistancy of weirdness. Joe Wright's latest is mixed bag of nonsensical soft focus close-ups, slow motion action sequences, and chase scenes with an overuse of upside down photography, all set to a Chemical Brothers industrial house soundtrack. Everyone was gaga over Wright after his first 2 features, Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. But we should be dubious of anyone who's main tool of artistic expression is Kiera Knightly. His last movie, The Soloist, was an exercise in self-indulgence: A L.A. journalist falling in love with a homeless, schizophrenic Julliard musician played by Jamie Foxx? Who the hell cares. Even one of my favorite actors of all time, good ol' Downey Jr., couldn't save that one. It seems Wright has become one of those cherished La La Land directors (Michael Mann, Tony Scott) who are heralded as auteurs when all they do is make long, vague, blurry commercials. Hanna is one of these strange, pointless creations.

The story centers around the movie's namesake, a 16-year old genetically engineered assassin (Saoisre Ronan) who's lived her whole life in the German woodlands, trained by her ruthless super spy father Eric Bana (I feel stupid just writing that). She is dispatched on a mission across Europe, the purpose of which is still unclear to me. Cate Blanchett plays the baddy, a CIA agent with a ridiculous red bob cut and an over-the-top southern accent, rivaling Gary Oldman in The Professional for silliest bad guy ever. We're supposed to experience the world anew through Hanna's innocent eyes, but all that amounts to is a strange seizure in a Moroccan hotel room, and an awkward underage psuedo-lesbian kiss in a tent. There are quite a few credible actors here (Olivia Williams, Jason Fleyming), but you get the feeling they showed up based on Wright's track record, not the script. I didn't wanna see this one as I had a feeling it would be ridiculous, but my good friend John White forced me to. I'd much rather be writing a review of Your Highness, where at least I'd have some decent penis jokes to report. JV says give this one a big fat miss.