HANNA: ADAPT OR DIE

Hanna isn't a typical teenager. She doesn't own an Ipod, lip gloss or skinny jeans. But those aren't the things that make her atypical. She lives with her father, rouge CIA agent, in icy Finland and has been raised as a soldier, trained in combat, to survive in extreme circumstances. When we meet Hanna and her father, "the plan", her life's goal, etched in her head since birth is finally ready to be carried out and all she has to do is press a button. Launch into action uber-tense Marissa (a fantastic Cate Blanchett) with her Texas twang and steel cold heart who becomes both the hunter and the hunted. The story twists and turns and is a heart pounding race to the finish. Unfortunately the end ends with a whimper and not a bang, but it is the right ending to this girl's journey. Saoirse Ronan is stunning as a young woman who is both full of knowledge and naivete at the same time. At times she is like a wild animal and at others she is just a wide eyed teenager seeing all that the world has to offer for the first time, both good and bad. Eric Bana as her father is too full of heart and yet disconnected in that CIA operative kind of way. However Blanchett is a woman who is as tightly wound as they come. I will never brush my teeth again without remembering her. Her protagonist is about as cold hearted, cold blooded and steely as possible. This is a truly engaging film.