Hanna

Saoirse Ronan stars as Hanna - a 16-year old girl who has been raised in the middle of a forested tundra far away from modern conveniences like running water, cell phones and the internet.

Her father, Erik (Eric Bana), has been hiding her and training her to be a lethal assassin, and we find out why when CIA Agent Marissa (Cate Blanchett) comes looking for both of them. Now, they are on the run with a plan to separate and rendezvous in Berlin.

Why does the CIA want Hanna?

Hanna isn't more than a few fight scenes interspersed with a few chase scenes even though we get teases and hints at the movie becoming more than that. Director Joe Wright and the writing team of Seth Lochhead and David Farr do a decent job dropping in facts and information about the mystery behind Hanna and her exile, but I felt like I was watching a parody of a B-movie I would see late at night on Cinemax or TMC.

Many of Hanna's actions come off as weird, since the movie's tone is caught somewhere in between reality-based and over-the-top graphic novel fantasy. Sadly, what sometimes is intended to be funny comes off as out of place and revolting instead. Plus, because we are caught in between reality and fantasy, it's hard to believe Hanna, who has no experience with the modern world, would have a clue how to escape a prison and make her way to Berlin, which flushes the whole premise down the drain.

Then, what was Blanchett thinking? She sounds like a drunk Dr. Phil in her attempts to be a notorious, supervillain.

Worst of all, it's hard for the audience to have any emotion for Hanna. Ronan is doing her best to make the audience pity her for her lack of worldly knowledge, while also getting us to root for her power and determination, but the material doesn't let it happen.

Hanna is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language.