Media

Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - September, 2011

"Hanna" (Blu-ray) - Reviewed by Stephen Hornbrook

Synopsis

Hanna, a young girl now just 16 years of age, was raised in a remote forest cabin by her father Erik and trained to be a self-sufficient hunter and killer. Finally the time has come and her father feels she is ready to face the world and the truths it may hold. He gives her the option to stay with him or flip a switch on a location device, alerting the CIA of their location.  Hanna decides she is indeed ready and it is time.  Shortly after flipping the switch, her father leaves on his own and Hanna is left only to be greeted by a helicopter and a swarm of armed soldiers who take her captive.  CIA Agent Marissa Wiegler has been hunting down Erik and his daughter for the last 15 years since her attempt at killing them failed, resulting in only the death of Hanna’s mother.  That has left quite a large chip on Hanna’s shoulder and she intends to get vengeance for her mother’s death.

Commentary

I felt Hanna had a decent amount of buzz when it arrived in theaters and I was looking forward to checking it out.  I was not sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed what Hanna is.  It is definitely not your average “I am a trained assassin killer movie”, nor is it a pretentious art piece that leaves you wondering what the heck you just watched.  Hanna fits nicely among other great movies such as Salt and The Bourne series as a story about an exceptionally trained rogue killer.  The movie is very dynamic, ranging from the quiet stillness of a snowy forest, to an intensely loud chase scene through an underground facility. The score by The Chemical Brothers is very good and fits perfectly into the world of Hanna. Highly recommended.

Picture quality is consistent and very good.  Hanna is not a boring looking film, as Joe Wright pays careful attention to every shot in the movie. It has a unique look and the Blu-ray captures the details effortlessly.

The sound mix for Hanna is intense. With a great score by The Chemical Brothers, the soundtrack is powerful and well mixed with plenty of room shaking bass.  This movie had some of the lowest frequencies I have heard in awhile. A great test disc if you just got a new subwoofer.

Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending, a couple short featurettes including one about the films soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers which was pretty good, and Audio Commentary.

3 D

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