Hanna Delivers a Kickass Joyride Through CIA-Conspiracy Land

A young girl growing up in the forest with her father who is training her to become an assassin. Their life is all about grooming Hanna to kill the CIA agent that is hunting her down. The training is all-consuming, focusing on intense physical fitness, memorizing reams of knowledge, and remaining emotionless and mentally steadfast in tense predicaments. This is the premise of the 2011 film Hanna and its namesake three-season Amazon Prime Video series (2019-2021).

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) plays Hanna in the film, directed by Joe Wright (Darkest Hour). Her father is played by Eric Bana (Hulk) with Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) in the CIA-investigator role. Her father once recruited pregnant women into a CIA program where their children’s DNA was enhanced to create super soldiers. After the project was shut down, all the subjects were eliminated except Hanna. Pursuit, escape, and awesome fight scenes take place around the world (Germany, Finland, Morocco) accompanied by a pumping soundtrack by the Chemical Brothers.

The Amazon series is based on the movie, holding true to it, particularly in Season One, but branching out into other realms of espionage and intrigue in Seasons Two and Three. David Farr, writer of the movie, also created the series. Esme Creed-Miles stars as Hanna, Mireille Enos (The Killing) as Marissa the CIA investigator, and Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) as Hanna’s father (Season One). Dermot Mulroney (Seasons Two and Three) and Ray Liotta (Season Three) have key supporting roles. Spain, Paris, Prague, and the U.K. provide exotic backdrops. Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs deliver a musical post-punk racket to the proceedings (Season One).

The CIA’s latest diabolical effort is training women to assassinate young people identified as potential future troublemakers for world order. Yeah, it’s quite a concept and does get into Bond territory without the cheesy humor. The adrenalized chase, escape, and fight scenes are worth it alone to watch the series. Just watching the animal-like movements of Hanna darting through the woods is a rush. The fights are stylized, choreographed wonders. I’ll admit I’m a big fan of these scenarios – Charlize Theron, Tom Cruise, and the many more movie characters that find themselves surrounded by a bunch of really bad guys. How do they get out this? Hanna has many missions where the odds are against her. Besides the physical aspects of the confrontations, her mental preparedness is just as fascinating. The way she approaches a dangerous situation – from scanning the scene at all angles, identifying the weak spots of her pursuers, to charting her escape route – is like she’s a human Terminator.

The series deals in dichotomies. Between Hanna, the sheltered girl who has never had a friend, tasted a candy bar, or run some errands around town, to the badass not scared of anything. Between the conspiracy thriller full of CIA plots, masterminds behind the scenes, and a killing army of girls to a coming-of-age story under extraordinary circumstances. But it’s the cat-and-mouse game and love-hate dynamic between Marissa and Hanna that is the heart of the show. The relationship bounces from mother-daughter, to killer-hunted, to in-between indifference. The series culminates with one of the extremes winning out.

D² Rating ◼◼◼◩☐

Trivia ? – In what 2007 film did Joe Wright also direct Saoirse Ronan, earning seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Ronan?

Answer: Atonement