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Hanna is a great ride, provided you keep your hands inside the car and don’t tug too hard on the sweater of the plot. It’s the latest film from Joe Wright, featuring Saoirse Ronan as an unstoppable teenager who’s much more than she appears to be, Eric Bana as her father/mentor, and Cate Blanchett as the CIA agent trying to apprehend her. The movie stretches across the world, from icy Finland to scorching Morocco to a beautiful abandoned amusement park in Berlin. It’s a great piece of directing and acting, and fans of Wright and Ronan will enjoy this Blu-ray immensely.
HANNA
Studio: Universal
Year: 2011
Length: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Action/Thriller/Chemical Brothers
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
BD Resolution and Codec: 1080p, AVC (@ an average 33 mbps)
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (@ an average 3.0 mbps, up to 5.5 mbps), Spanish DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, English DVS 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Film Rating: PG-13 (Violence, Action, Sexual Material, Language) I need to note here this a very strong PG-13, probably just this side of an R…
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemying and Cate Blanchett
Story by: Seth Lochhead
Screenplay by: Seth Lochhead and David Farr
Directed by: Joe Wright
Film Rating: 3 ½/5
Hanna is a blast to experience as a movie. It’s a fairy tale of sorts, about an innocent girl who also may happen to be the deadliest person on the planet. From the first scene, the movie gets right into the viewer’s face and doesn’t back off. Saoirse Ronan immediately establishes herself in the role of Hanna with a performance that finely toes the line between action beats and moments of yearning. Joe Wright sees this film as a road movie, and it is one, in a way. We track Hanna from an opening set near the arctic circle, down to Morocco, over to Spain and off to Berlin before we’re done. Along the way, there are multiple action set pieces, mostly involving Hanna going Rambo on whatever assailant comes after her. And as things progress, the action is enhanced by the propulsive score from the Chemical Brothers, who start with simpler electronic noises and build into full dance rhythms as the onscreen mayhem escalates. Now, when you get to the end of the movie and try to back up the story logic from there, it all starts to come apart, as Joe Wright acknowledges in the commentary. But if you just enjoy the ride, you’ll find that Wright and Ronan have given you both a good bit of action and more than a few moments of deep character to take with you. I’m happy to recommend this one for both rental and purchase. Of course, fans of Joe Wright and Saoirse Ronan won’t be waiting for me to do that.
I should note that while the movie is rated PG-13, there are plenty of moments of violence that take things right to the edge of an R rating, including gunshots to the head and inappropriate use of various implements. On the other hand, the violence is usually careful to leave most of the fun to the viewer’s imagination.
Hanna will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 6. The Blu-ray contains the movie in high definition plus all the DVD extras (including a commentary by Joe Wright, deleted scenes and a quick featurette), and then adds four additional featurettes. The Blu-ray includes the usual BD-Live and pocket BLU functionality, as well as D-Box functionality. The packaging includes instructions for downloading a digital copy of the movie.
VIDEO QUALITY 4 ½/5
Hanna is presented in a 1080p AVC 2.40:1 transfer that reflects the brutal economy of the storytelling and the wild beauty of many of the locations. There is some softness here and there, but that is due to the source elements, not the transfer. There are moments of this movie that will take your breath away (in terms of the spare beauty of an icy wilderness or the savage heat of a rockscape in Morocco) and other moments that are intentionally rougher.
AUDIO QUALITY 5/5
Hanna is presented in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, along with French and Spanish DTS 5.1 mixes and an English DVS 2.0 mix. If the picture quality is excellent, the sound takes things to another level. This is one active, loud mix, and it’s one you really do need to listen to at volume. Between the mix of sound effects and the Chemical Brothers’ beats, and the moments in the film where all the sound is drawn out of the frame save Saoirse Ronan’s breath, this is a wild sonic ride. That said, this is also one of those movies that a late night screening will likely give you a chance to meet all the neighbors you have awakened. And yes, I’m aware that this is one of the highest audio scores I’ve ever given – this one earns it.
SPECIAL FEATURES 3 ½/5
The Blu-ray presentation of Hanna comes with multiple special features, four featurettes of which are exclusive to the Blu-ray. There’s a lot of good stuff here, including a commentary with director Joe Wright. The Blu-ray comes with the usual functionality, although there is no PIP material, and the packaging includes instructions for downloading a digital copy of the movie.
Feature Commentary with Director Joe Wright – This scene-specific commentary finds the soft-spoken Joe Wright talking about many aspects of the movie. At some points, he falls into just watching the movie, but he usually pipes up with an interesting bit about either the filming conditions or the concept behind what we’re seeing. Some of this gets really amusing – he goes on about how he focused on Cate Blanchett’s teeth at two moments as a dig at Americans’ obsession with dental hygiene while he has bad English teeth. During the big breakout sequence, he discusses the specifics of where each bit was shot and admits that they simply ran out of time before he could shoot everything he wanted. And as we get into the later scenes, he gets into more of the story issues before throwing out one great gem, as Eric Bana is seen onscreen outracing a Range Rover. “The ad for next year’s car will be ‘The 2012 Range Rover – Almost as fast as Eric Bana."
Alternate Ending – (1:28, 1080p) – An alternate coda is shown here, which Joe Wright references in his commentary. It’s interesting, but simply unnecessary, and it’s almost completely unconnected with what we have seen for much of the movie.
Deleted Scenes – (3:46 Total, 1080p) – A few deleted scenes and extensions are shown here, usually bridging how Hanna or her father get from point A to point B. One bit in an internet café shows how Hanna suddenly learns how to use the internet when we see her doing so at one point.
Adapt or Die – (13:15, 1080p) (EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY) – This featurette focuses on the stunt work in the movie, particularly the brutal fight sequences. Coordinator Jeff Imada is interviewed along with the cast and Joe Wright, and there’s some pretty good footage both from the set and from the extensive workout sessions.
Central Intelligence Allegory – (8:54 1080p) (EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY) – This featurette focuses on the story and theme of the movie, with a heavy emphasis on the fairy tale aspects. Screenwright Seth Lochhead joins the discussion here with thoughts about his opening image for the story.
Chemical Reaction – (6:06, 1080p) (EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY) – This featurette deals with the scoring work done by the Chemical Brothers, and includes input from them as well as Joe Wright.
Anatomy of a Scene: The Escape from Camp G – (3:10, 1080p) – This featurette is just a really quick look at the early escape sequence, repeating some of the territory already heard in the stunt featurette and in Joe Wright’s commentary. This is really just a carry-over from the DVD, where it’s the only featurette.
The Wide World of Hanna – (2:12, 1080p) (EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY) – This super-fast featurette really just shows a quick look at the multiple locations and environments in which the movie was made, ranging from near the Arctic Circle to 100+ degree heat in Morocco.
Hanna Promo – (1:28, 1080p) – This promo is the fastest thing on the disc, and it really doesn’t do anything more than repeat what we’ve already heard at a more satisfying length.
BD-Live – The usual BD-Live functionality is present.
Pocket BLU – The usual pocket BLU functionality is present.
D-Box – This functionality is available for those viewers who have this as part of their home theater.
Digital Copy – Instructions for downloading a digital copy of the movie are available on an insert in the packaging. The copy may not be available after 2/25/2012.
The movie and special features are subtitled in English, Spanish and French. The usual chapter and pop-up menus are present. When you first put the Blu-ray into the player, you’ll see a few BD-Live trailers for upcoming Blu-ray releases.
IN THE END...
Hanna is what happens when a thoughtful director and a strong teenage actress decide to make a strong action movie. The plot and the script may not be the deepest, and it may not make a lick of sense in the end, but it’s still a great ride and it packs a pretty strong punch. And some of the moments along the way (Ronan’s yearning looks, Eric Bana’s wistful reading of “Kids grow up…”) suggest something more than a little deeper. And at the same time, the movie knows itself well enough to surround villain Tom Hollander with a mean little whistle theme – just the touch for a modern Grimm’s Fairy Tale. The picture and sound are terrific here, and the extras are a good package. With the warning that the PG-13 rating here is a lot stronger than you might think, I’m pleased to recommend this one for both rental and purchase.
Kevin Koster
August 28, 2011.
Equipment now in use in this Home Theater:
Panasonic 65” VT30 Plasma 3D HDTV – set at “THX” picture mode
Denon AVR-3311Cl Receiver
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray Player
PS3 Player (used for calculation of bitrates for picture and sound)
5 Mirage Speakers (Front Left/Center/Right, Surround Back Left/Right)
2 Sony Speakers (Surround Left/Right – middle of room)
Martin Logan Dynamo 700 Subwoofer
