Hanna

[sanjuro_ronin]

I must say, I am looking forward to seeing this.
I love Jeff's work and having two little girls I think girl empowerment movies are great.
Though I don't think I will let them see this, LOL !

[JamesC]

@JamesC - if you think having a southern accent makes you villainous, try being Asian.

Hah, that's true

[Jimbo]

IMO, the most common accent for villains in U.S. films is the so-called "Euro-trash" accent, often of indeterminate origin.

[GeneChing]

...skinheads in jack boots and bomber jackets... and a fey villain too!

Four factors won me over with this film. #1 Saoirse Ronan is a very interesting young actress - she's one to watch in coming years. #2. Cate Blanchett is a great villain - she just chews up every scene that she's in, never mind the accent. #3 Joe Wright is an engaging director - he really knows how to move a camera. Watch for that single shot scene. I want to see the film again just to analyze what he does in that scene. I'm pretty sure he has some breaks in it as he crosses some columns, but I must see it again to be sure. #4 Chemical Brothers soundtrack. It was a little Run Lola Run, but it still worked for me. I've worked Chemical Brothers shows many times, so that band is near and dear to me.

There are gaping holes in the story, but this is a fantasy film, and the pacing and performances totally made up for that.

Here's an except from the press notes about the fight choreography. I didn't use it in our review because it contradicted some of the things Saoirse and Joe said in person to us. Nevertheless, it's still interesting, so I thought I'd share it.

On Hanna, there was a new aspect for Wright to explore; putting the actors through a detailed regimen for rigorous action scenes. This provided an ideal opportunity to bond the actors playing father and daughter. Bana recalls, “Saoirse and I did some of our training together, and she was well-prepared, with great coordination. She was better than some of the men I’ve worked with over the years. It’s often harder to fight with an actor than a stunt person, but Saoirse was committed and engaged. Our fight scenes were unique, with a father teaching a daughter and not just two people going after each other and one winning.

“Turns out that her arm’s length reach is very long, and almost the same as mine. I had to be careful in our fight-training scenes together because those fists come at a great rate and with real force. I had to be very cautious not to hurt her – and not get knocked out by her. I’ve worked with a lot of guys who are not as tough as Saoirse is.”

“I know I hurt Eric a few times,” admits Ronan. “But Joe did tell me to go for it.”

“Saoirse and I also had a good time ripping into each other because, she being Irish and me being Australian, we were kind of kindred spirits in our senses of humor; hers is wicked,” reveals Bana.

Bana had experience in the physical arena from his other movies, but on Hanna stunt coordinator and fight choreographer Jeff Imada (fight stunt coordinator on both The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Supremacy) had to “teach Eric some things to fit his character – and Hanna’s, since the father is training the daughter.”

Bana points out, “This was a little different for me because of the hand-to-hand combat – which I actually hadn’t done a lot of in earlier movies. There are physically demanding scenes between Hanna and Erik that have emotional punch as well.”

Given that Hanna is someone who has been in training for as long as she can remember, Imada began work with Ronan well ahead of production, while the actress was still publicizing her film The Lovely Bones in Los Angeles. He reports, “I put her through a few tests to get a feel for her body mechanics, and to ascertain how much work we needed to do to make her look convincing as a teenager trained to a high level of skill by her father, who himself was trained by a government agency.”

Wright wanted the fight scenes to look as naturalistic as possible. Given the setting that was being established for Hanna’s upbringing, Imada introduced an element of the wild into the fighting style. He explains, “Hanna is surrounded by wildlife; she has learned a keen awareness from animals, how to survive and how to fit into and live in the landscape.”

“When she kills, to her it’s like killing in the wild, from her upbringing,” offers Ronan.

Imada comments, “Saoirse has a slight build, so she could be agile, moving quickly and with stealth. I incorporated martial-arts kicks, aerobic exercises, and basic boxing and grappling moves into our training. We adjusted Saoirse’s diet to help build muscle. We also worked with weapons, using sticks so that they would become extensions of her arm.”

The idea was to “mold all this into her, so that when it came to the fight scenes Saoirse would be able to summon all of this, immediately convincing the audience – and that she wouldn’t tire easily!”

Life began to imitate art; Imada trained with Ronan for six weeks, with the teenager working “five, six hours a day – and she never complained,” he notes. “I sometimes had to tell her when to quit. She was determined to come across as Hanna. I was really impressed with her.”

Ronan proudly notes that she ended up doing “quite a few of the stunts myself,” yet admits that the first days of training were punishing; “Joe warned me, but I thought, ‘I’ll be fine, I swim and run [regularly].’ I’ve always been quite athletic.

“Well, there was a lot more involved than I thought there would be. I got into the gym and had to start lifting weights and pushing bars over my head and running on treadmills every single day. It all paid off. I loved learning all the physical stuff; doing martial arts centers you.”

One martial arts discipline that Ronan particularly appreciated was “wing chun, which we used a lot because Hanna would be fighting people bigger and stronger than she is, and would have to use their strength against them. But Jeff would also put Hanna’s own spin on the styles.”

Imada says that he followed Wright’s mandate to eschew an over-the-top fighting style in favor of “everyday, real moves that can be used in self-defense. So although she enjoyed knife work, we also taught Saoirse to work with no weapons.”

“It’s easier if you’ve got weapons,” comments Ronan. “But to me it was more like dancing than anything else; it’s still choreography, after all.”

Bana remarks, “Joe had made it clear early on that he hates seeing a lot of editing cuts in fights – as do I – and that there would be sequences where he wasn’t going to cut away. So the fight scenes in long takes, as we were doing, had to be accurate and planned out with Jeff and Joe.”

Following up on the memorable uninterrupted sequences Wright conceived and executed in Atonement, The Soloist, and the miniseries The Last King, in one key sequence in Hanna the camera tracks Bana through a long steadicam take. In-character as Erik, he goes below ground into a train station to evade a special ops agent, only to have to fight off four at once. That sequence alone – with its elements of martial arts and street fighting – made the movie “the most physical picture I’ve ever done,” states Bana.

[JamesC]

Bana remarks, “Joe had made it clear early on that he hates seeing a lot of editing cuts in fights – as do I – and that there would be sequences where he wasn’t going to cut away. So the fight scenes in long takes, as we were doing, had to be accurate and planned out with Jeff and Joe.”

This alone may be the redeeming factor for me, personally.

I absolutely hate the way fight scenes get edited in most Hollywood movies. Not to mention the cameramen always having seizures during them and the chase scenes.

[Jimbo]

Saw it, loved it.
But I was far more impressed with the acting/characterizations than I was with the fight scenes. Which is pretty much what I expected. Saoirse Ronan was extremely plausible as Hanna; I can't imagine any other young actress coming close to handling the role like she did. Cate Blanchette was excellent as the lead villain; this is her best villain role to date. And of course, Eric Bana did a great job, too.

I have opinions about some of the fights, but will wait until others have seen it.

[SanHeChuan]

Saw it.

I was looking forward to it.

It was well made, and the cinematography was good.

It the plot was really lacking, since they were going for no explanation, like it said in the article, they should have pared that explanation down more.

There was no emotional drama in the movie, no highs and lows, everyone was emotionally dead pan.

The genetic super solider thing was weak, besides being poor writing; it was a way to say that a normal girl couldn’t possibly do these things, which was BS, except the HMMV thing which was total BS even for a super solider.

The martial arts was not WK (JKD maybe), and it was very pedestrian and uninspired. I would have liked to see more utilization of the environment like Jason Borne stuff using pens, throwing people on things.

[Jimbo]

I actually came to like the hippie family. I didn't at first, but they seemed to bring an element of humanity to the movie. But I still think Saoirse Ronan played her character very well. She was supposed to be emotionally stunted, and so were Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett's characters, too. Within the framework of the film, I think they did a good job.

I agree about the fights, but I'll add that, in spite of the director supposedly not liking edited/cut-up fights, that's exactly what he ended up doing, often with shaky camerawork. There was maybe one fight shot in a (comparatively) long take, in the subway area.

[TaichiMantis]

This past weekend we visited my 23 yr old son in Ann Arbor. He took my 16 yr old son to see Hanna for some brother bonding time. Paul is a freelance writer who writes movie and gaming reviews. He writes for Forbes and Joblo and has his own website Unreality.
I was bummed when I read this line from his review...but I'm going to see Hanna anyway.

All that epic weapon and hand to hand combat, and you’re going to end things like…that?

Gene, I just sent him your review so he could read your take on the fight stuff . He's the only one of my kids that thinks my kung fu and weapons is cool ...the other two just think I'm nuts

[TaichiMantis]

I must say, I am looking forward to seeing this.
I love Jeff's work and having two little girls I think girl empowerment movies are great.
Though I don't think I will let them see this, LOL !

Ha! My hubby watched Braveheart with my 5 yr old son...

[GeneChing]

I had a feeling this was going to go somewhere - I was thinking film franchise, but TV series works better.

MAY 23, 2017 9:00am PT by Bryn Elise Sandberg
Amazon Orders 'Hanna' TV Adaptation to Series

nternational Studios.
Amazon is betting on a film adaptation to be its next breakout hit.

The streaming service has greenlit a television adaptation of Hanna, Joe Wright's 2011 film starring Saoirse Ronan. David Farr, who co-wrote the original Focus Features film and most recently adapted John Le Carre’s The Night Manager at AMC, is set to pen the script. Wright will not be involved with the project.

Hanna is a high-concept thriller and coming-of-age drama that follows the journey of an extraordinary young girl as she evades the relentless pursuit of an off-book CIA agent and tries to unearth the truth behind who she is. Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements will serve as executive producers on the series alongside Scott Nemes and JoAnn Alfano for NBCUniversal International Studios. Scott Herbst and Tom Coan will be co-executive producers.

"From the moment JoAnn Alfano and I saw Hanna it was evident that the film would make an incredible TV series. Fortunately, David Farr felt there was more Hanna story to tell and wanted to revisit this extraordinary world. We’re excited to be in business with David, Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements, who share our passion for this compelling story," said Michael Edelstein, president of NBCUniversal International Studios. "The team at Amazon have been incredibly supportive, and we are delighted this show will air on a platform that continues to generate exceptional content."

"I am delighted to be able to return to the Hanna story," said Farr. "Joe Wright's movie was dazzling, but inevitably there were certain elements that a feature-length film wasn't able fully to explore. It's a pleasure therefore to be able to revisit the material in a longer format and take Hanna into whole new physical and emotional worlds. Amazon has shown such passion for the project and is the perfect home for Hanna." Adelstein added: "I am thrilled to be revisiting this fantastic story. Hanna is one of the highlights of my career, and I look forward to seeing this story continue with David Farr."

Based in London, NBCUniversal International Studios has delivered TV shows under its various in-house production labels, including Carnival Films (Downton Abbey), Monkey Kingdom (Made in Chelsea) and Australian-based Matchbox Pictures (The Nowhere Boys). Most recently, the studio acquired the rights to Out of Africa, and Heyday Television is set to adapt the Universal Pictures film into a TV drama in partnership with The Night Manger's Susanne Bier.

[GeneChing]

I am forever grateful to the original film Hanna because through it, we got to meet Saoirse before she really blew up as an actress. Hanna: The Girl Who Kicked Ass was a fun review to write for that very reason. It was an absurd story, but it worked, largely due to Saoirse's star power. I'm not confident the new Amazon Prime series will be able to carry it off without her, but I'll still tune in and launch a new thread for it.

#1 Saoirse Ronan is a very interesting young actress - she's one to watch in coming years.

called it.