Hanna

What to watch out for * Messages: Most of the negativity revolves around whether it was Hanna's destiny to be the kind of trained killer she is or whether her father had a choice and could have raised her in a more peaceful manner. Marissa is an unredeeming villain who values herself over everyone else. * Role models: Except for Hanna's grandmother, there are few positive role models here. Even Hanna's father has ulterior motives and brings her up to become a tool of vengeance. Sophie's parents seem loving, open-minded, and caring, but their concern is overshadowed by the selfishness and cruelty displayed by Marissa, who's a very cold-hearted villain. Violence: From the opening scene -- when Hanna hunts down a large elk with an arrow and finishes it off with a bullet -- to the final moment, when two characters face off, there's barely a scene in the movie without some form of violence. Hanna's father trains her by sparring hand-to-hand and with various weapons. Major and secondary characters are killed in various ways -- bullets to the head or heart, slit throats, arrows to the heart, smashed skulls, knives to the gut, snapped necks, and more. Unlike superhero movies, the violence is realistic and at times quite bloody. Innocent bystanders who've met or spoken to Hanna end up tortured or killed. * Sex: Hanna and Sophie flirt with and then go on a date with two attractive guys. Sophie and her date kiss, but violence gets in the way of Hanna kissing hers. Sophie's parents have loud, camper-van-shaking sex; viewers hear them moaning while Sophie comments about them being "like rabbits." A woman practices a dance at a club, and the owner tells someone she has male and female genitalia, but nothing is shown. * Language: One loud "f--k," plus a few uses of "s--t," "d--n," "oh my God," and English slang like "mental" and "bugger." * Consumerism: There's a close-up of Marissa's green Prada shoes. Villains drive in a white Range Rover.

This movie was extremely violent, and worse than some movies in that the lives lost were innocent. There was no remorse, no real purpose for all the violence. At the end I was confused because so many lives were lost for no real reason in my opinion. It's all about survival, but does the survival of one justify the killing of dozens of innocent lives? No. Especially when she doesn't hold information that needs to be protected or even holds a high position in government. She's just a teenage girl.

I saw this last night and it is a great movie! There is a ton of action but not that much blood and it has a few scenes that lighten the mood and make you laugh in it. Overalli would recommend this to anyone thirteen and older who loves a thrilling action flick

I've always been one to give credit to a director for being ballsy, or as we call it in the high-brow world of critiquing- ambitious. Even if the film the director directs is indeed total crap, it always gets sufficient markings in my book just for the genuinely impressive audacity of its intentions. An explosion-filled FX-fest with no story and bland direction... no balls. Our movie-going generation exists in a reality largely devoid of action movies with balls. It's a true sickness that many of us are forced to feel nowadays while watching atrocious so-called 'thrill rides' of the modern age. Even this year, we've been subjected to "Battle: Los Angeles" and "The Mechanic". But do not give up hope! There is a cure to the sickness, and it's called "Hanna", the new Joe Wright-helmed film starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Olivia Williams, and Cate Blanchett. Hanna is a girl who never experienced childhood or experienced free early youth. After her father's wife is brutally murdered by an eccentric special operative of the government when she is only a toddler, the two run away to a secluded section of the wilderness. Amidst the total seclusion, Hanna is taught to become a survivor and a warrior. All is well until she decides it's time for her to experience Earth as most people know it. This decision triggers extraordinary deception, betrayal, prevalent annihilation, and ultimately- confusion. An elaborate web of lies is woven that estranges Hanna from her father, and coerces her into a world she's not prepared to accept or engage in. Regardless of a unique vision and directorial style that the film incorporates, it would be nearly successful due to the performances alone, all of them being brilliantly executed. Saoirse Ronan plays the unknowingly out-of-place badass better than anyone could ever be expected to. With true ferocity and undeniable grit, she injects so much raw power into her role. Aside from her, the rest of the cast is perfect. It's always a refreshing occurrence when there isn't a weak link. It's odd; "Hanna" actually feels stylistically congruent to an art film, rather than a conventional Hollywood thriller. Joe Wright adds something new or intriguing to each shot, whether it be an extended tracking shot or a fast-cutting chase scene laced with cinematographic genius. Wright really gives the film the edge it needs to overcome some of the minor hindrances of the script, some of the tiny plot holes. Also, it should be mentioned; the soundtrack that accompanies this film can only be described transcendent. The Chemical Brothers' compelling and often astoundingly polished score never detracts from the relevance of a scene, but instead amplifies it to new levels. I guess you could call it the definition of icing on the cake. This movie is an exhilarating, original, skillfully crafted piece of action cinema. With its refreshingly artsy directorial approach and breathtaking action sequences, "Hanna" is something totally new and totally ballsy, two adjectives we aren't used to hearing very often.