Hanna: Movie Review

12:01 AM PDT 3/30/2011 by Todd McCarthy

Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana star in the pursuit thriller from "Atonement" director Joe Wright.

Moving ever further away from the high-lit reputability of Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, director Joe Wright seems hellbent on proving he's a high-powered action stylist in Hanna. This sort of reverse-image, quasi-intellectual cousin to Luc Besson's The Professional stars the exceptional Saoirse Ronan as the daughter of a CIA op, raised to be the perfect soldier spy, who's unexpectedly forced to cope with a world she doesn't know and a lethal female adversary from her father's past. At once enticing and a bit dubious, this arty thriller looks to ride its sterling cast and unusual kicks to decent midrange box office.