Hanna (film)
Encyclopedia
Hanna is a 2011 European-American action
thriller film directed by Joe Wright
. The film stars actress Saoirse Ronan
as the title character with Eric Bana
and Cate Blanchett
. The film was released in North America on April 8, 2011 and in Europe on May 5, 2011.
) is a 16-year-old girl who lives with her father, Erik Heller (Eric Bana
) in the wilderness of Finland
. Ever since she was two years old, Hanna has been trained by Erik to become a multilingual assassin. As part of her training, she has never come into contact with modern technology and has memorized a series of fake back stories for herself to be used "when the time comes".
One night, Hanna tells Erik that she is "ready", and he gives her a box containing an old transmitter that will alert the outside world to their presence. After analyzing the situation, Hanna flips the switch, sending a signal of her location to Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett
), a CIA
officer. Marissa sends a team to Erik's cabin, where Hanna, who had been waiting for them, is captured and taken to a CIA safe house in Morocco
. There, she discovers that Erik is a former CIA agent who betrayed the agency and knows a secret that cannot become public. Marissa has been assigned to kill him, but Erik has trained Hanna to kill Marissa. Knowing that Hanna was captured too easily, Wiegler sends a body double (Michelle Dockery
) to speak with Hanna. Not trusting the double, Hanna asks the body double where she met her father. The double who is being fed answers through an ear piece by Marissa answers the questions correctly and Hanna seemingly becomes upset by the answers and crawls into the lap of the double and sobs into the double's shoulder, prompting officials within the compound to send more officials into the holding cell she is being held in to sedate her to calm her down. But Hanna then kills the double, and the doctor and the officials who enter the holding cell, breaks free and escapes the compound.
While on the run through the desert, Hanna meets Sebastian (Jason Flemyng
) and Rachel (Olivia Williams
), and befriends their teenage daughter Sophie (Jessica Barden
). She sneaks into their van and hitches with them across to Spain, and then on to Germany. Meanwhile, Wiegler hires a night club owner called Isaacs (Tom Hollander
) to capture Hanna while she goes after Erik, who is in Germany
. Later, Isaacs and his men corner Hanna and the family, but she manages to escape after killing one of Isaacs' men. The son of the captured family, who is intrigued by Hanna, is tricked into telling Wiegler that Hanna is heading for Berlin. The fate of the family is not revealed.
In Berlin, Hanna meets with one of her father's associates, a clown who lives in an abandoned amusement park in order to rendezvous with her father. However, Wiegler and Isaacs locate them and kill Erik's associate with arrows, but Hanna escapes. She eventually meets with her father at her grandmother's apartment, where she discovers that Wiegler has murdered her grandmother. Hanna learns that Erik is not her father, and it is revealed that Erik was once a recruiter for a program in which pregnant women were recruited from abortion clinic
s so that the CIA could alter their children's DNA
, enhancing their strength, stamina, and reflexes while suppressing emotions like fear and empathy in order to create a batch of super-soldiers. The project was deemed a failure and all the women and their genetically-modified children were eliminated. Erik tried to escape with Hanna and her mother Johanna Zadek (Vicky Krieps), but Wiegler murdered Johanna before Erik could escape with her and Hanna to their cabin.
As Erik finishes explaining the truth to a bewildered Hanna, Wiegler and Isaacs arrive, intent on killing them; Erik acts as a distraction to allow Hanna to escape. Erik kills Isaacs and his cohort, but is shot and killed by Wiegler, who then chases Hanna back to the abandoned amusement park. Hanna pleads for an end to the killing, but Wiegler shoots Hanna, who in turn wounds Wiegler with an improvised bow-and-arrow. As Wiegler attempts to flee, Hanna hunts her to the top of a tall slide; a disoriented Wiegler falls down the slide, dropping her gun. Hanna picks up the gun, commenting how she missed Wiegler's heart, and shoots her dead, mirroring an earlier event with Hanna hunting and killing a reindeer
.
at Northeast Finland and several locations in Germany
, including Bad Tölz
, Potsdam
's Studio Babelsberg, the water bridge at Magdeburg
, the abandoned East Berlin amusement park Spreepark
, and Hamburg
Reeperbahn
, and then Ouarzazate
and Essaouira
in Morocco
. Temperatures during the Finland shoot sometimes fell as low as -33°C, but Ronan said "Finland did bring out the fairy tale aspects of the story. We were shooting on a frozen lake, surrounded by pine trees covered in snow." Most of the filming occurred at Studio Babelsberg. Danny Boyle
and Alfonso Cuarón
were previously attached to direct the film, before it was confirmed that Joe Wright would direct it, after Ronan prompted the producers to consider him.
Some shooting was done in Denmark
: The bridge in the background where Eric leaves the water, is the Femer Bridge in northern Germany
. He then kills two Danish police officers and later is seen lying on a bed reading a postcard, where the address says Aalsgaarde
, which is a city in the northern part of Zealand, Denmark.
The film's story and script were written by Seth Lochhead while a student in the Writing program at Vancouver Film School
. He finalized the script in 2006 with David Farr
providing later changes. Lochhead wrote the original story and script on spec
. Ronan commented on her character, saying: "We meet her as she goes out on her own, and when she does she is fascinated by everyone and everything she comes across. My favorite quality of hers is that she is non-judgmental; she shows an open mind to, and a fascination with, everything."
In an interview with Film School Rejects, Wright cited David Lynch
as a major influence on Hanna. On The Chemical Brothers
' score, he said: "You can expect an extraordinarily loud, thumping, deeply funk
y score that will not disappoint."
account under the playlist "Hanna". The official soundtrack, composed by The Chemical Brothers, was released 1 March 2011 on iTunes
.
Universal Studios
set up a promotional foursquare campaign featuring retailer HMV
to celebrate the UK release of Hanna on DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
. The campaign ran from 25th–28th August and invited fans of the film to participate in a 'Hunt for Hanna' to be in with a chance of winning a trip for two to Berlin. The competition took place in 3 locations around the UK and involved participants solving clues and checking into 6 locations within their city to be in with a chance of winning. All missions were set by the film's fictional character 'Marissa Wiegler' and the participants were encouraged to interact with her by notifying the character via email of when their mission was complete.
based on 196 reviews with the consensus stating "Fantastic acting and crisply choreographed action sequences propel this unique, cool take on the revenge thriller." Justin Chang of Variety
states that "Joe Wright's 'Hanna' is an exuberantly crafted chase thriller that pulses with energy from its adrenaline-pumping first minutes to its muted bang of a finish." Roger Ebert
gave the film three and a half stars out of four, commenting "Wright combines his two genres into a stylish exercise that perversely includes some sentiment and insight".
Peter Bradshaw
of The Guardian
, on the other hand, gives the film two of five stars, stating "With its wicked-witch performance from Cate Blanchett
, its derivative premise, its bland Europudding location work and some frankly outrageous boredom, this will test everyone's patience." Kenneth Turan, of the Los Angeles Times, states that the film "starts off like a house afire but soon burns itself out". He states that even though the film is "[b]lessed with considerable virtues, including a clever concept, crackling filmmaking and a charismatic star, it ultimately squanders all of them, undone by an unfortunate lack of subtlety and restraint."
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
thriller film directed by Joe Wright
Joe Wright
Joe Wright is an English film director best known for Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Hanna.-Early life and career:...
. The film stars actress Saoirse Ronan
Saoirse Ronan
Saoirse Una Ronan is an Irish film actress. She began her career as a child and came to international prominence in 2007 after co-starring in the film Atonement, which gained her nominations for a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.Ronan has since appeared in...
as the title character with Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
and Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
. The film was released in North America on April 8, 2011 and in Europe on May 5, 2011.
Plot
Hanna Heller (Saoirse RonanSaoirse Ronan
Saoirse Una Ronan is an Irish film actress. She began her career as a child and came to international prominence in 2007 after co-starring in the film Atonement, which gained her nominations for a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.Ronan has since appeared in...
) is a 16-year-old girl who lives with her father, Erik Heller (Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
) in the wilderness of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Ever since she was two years old, Hanna has been trained by Erik to become a multilingual assassin. As part of her training, she has never come into contact with modern technology and has memorized a series of fake back stories for herself to be used "when the time comes".
One night, Hanna tells Erik that she is "ready", and he gives her a box containing an old transmitter that will alert the outside world to their presence. After analyzing the situation, Hanna flips the switch, sending a signal of her location to Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
), a CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
officer. Marissa sends a team to Erik's cabin, where Hanna, who had been waiting for them, is captured and taken to a CIA safe house in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. There, she discovers that Erik is a former CIA agent who betrayed the agency and knows a secret that cannot become public. Marissa has been assigned to kill him, but Erik has trained Hanna to kill Marissa. Knowing that Hanna was captured too easily, Wiegler sends a body double (Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery is an English actress of stage and screen. She has become best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey...
) to speak with Hanna. Not trusting the double, Hanna asks the body double where she met her father. The double who is being fed answers through an ear piece by Marissa answers the questions correctly and Hanna seemingly becomes upset by the answers and crawls into the lap of the double and sobs into the double's shoulder, prompting officials within the compound to send more officials into the holding cell she is being held in to sedate her to calm her down. But Hanna then kills the double, and the doctor and the officials who enter the holding cell, breaks free and escapes the compound.
While on the run through the desert, Hanna meets Sebastian (Jason Flemyng
Jason Flemyng
Jason Iain Flemyng is an English actor. He is known for his film work, which has included roles in British films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch , both for Guy Ritchie, as well as Hollywood productions such as Rob Roy along with the Alan Moore comic book adaptations From...
) and Rachel (Olivia Williams
Olivia Williams
Olivia Haigh Williams is an English film, stage and television actress who has appeared in British and American films and television series.-Early life:Williams was born in Camden Town, London, England...
), and befriends their teenage daughter Sophie (Jessica Barden
Jessica Barden
Jessica Barden is an English actress who was a regular cast member on Coronation Street.In 2007 it was announced that she would play the part of Kayleigh Morton on the ITV Soap Opera Coronation Street...
). She sneaks into their van and hitches with them across to Spain, and then on to Germany. Meanwhile, Wiegler hires a night club owner called Isaacs (Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
) to capture Hanna while she goes after Erik, who is in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Later, Isaacs and his men corner Hanna and the family, but she manages to escape after killing one of Isaacs' men. The son of the captured family, who is intrigued by Hanna, is tricked into telling Wiegler that Hanna is heading for Berlin. The fate of the family is not revealed.
In Berlin, Hanna meets with one of her father's associates, a clown who lives in an abandoned amusement park in order to rendezvous with her father. However, Wiegler and Isaacs locate them and kill Erik's associate with arrows, but Hanna escapes. She eventually meets with her father at her grandmother's apartment, where she discovers that Wiegler has murdered her grandmother. Hanna learns that Erik is not her father, and it is revealed that Erik was once a recruiter for a program in which pregnant women were recruited from abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
s so that the CIA could alter their children's DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
, enhancing their strength, stamina, and reflexes while suppressing emotions like fear and empathy in order to create a batch of super-soldiers. The project was deemed a failure and all the women and their genetically-modified children were eliminated. Erik tried to escape with Hanna and her mother Johanna Zadek (Vicky Krieps), but Wiegler murdered Johanna before Erik could escape with her and Hanna to their cabin.
As Erik finishes explaining the truth to a bewildered Hanna, Wiegler and Isaacs arrive, intent on killing them; Erik acts as a distraction to allow Hanna to escape. Erik kills Isaacs and his cohort, but is shot and killed by Wiegler, who then chases Hanna back to the abandoned amusement park. Hanna pleads for an end to the killing, but Wiegler shoots Hanna, who in turn wounds Wiegler with an improvised bow-and-arrow. As Wiegler attempts to flee, Hanna hunts her to the top of a tall slide; a disoriented Wiegler falls down the slide, dropping her gun. Hanna picks up the gun, commenting how she missed Wiegler's heart, and shoots her dead, mirroring an earlier event with Hanna hunting and killing a reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
.
Cast
- Saoirse RonanSaoirse RonanSaoirse Una Ronan is an Irish film actress. She began her career as a child and came to international prominence in 2007 after co-starring in the film Atonement, which gained her nominations for a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.Ronan has since appeared in...
as Hanna Heller - Cate BlanchettCate BlanchettCatherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
as Marissa Wiegler - Eric BanaEric BanaEric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
as Erik Heller - Jessica BardenJessica BardenJessica Barden is an English actress who was a regular cast member on Coronation Street.In 2007 it was announced that she would play the part of Kayleigh Morton on the ITV Soap Opera Coronation Street...
as Sophie - Tom HollanderTom HollanderThomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
as Isaacs - Olivia WilliamsOlivia WilliamsOlivia Haigh Williams is an English film, stage and television actress who has appeared in British and American films and television series.-Early life:Williams was born in Camden Town, London, England...
as Rachel - Jason FlemyngJason FlemyngJason Iain Flemyng is an English actor. He is known for his film work, which has included roles in British films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch , both for Guy Ritchie, as well as Hollywood productions such as Rob Roy along with the Alan Moore comic book adaptations From...
as Sebastian - Michelle DockeryMichelle DockeryMichelle Dockery is an English actress of stage and screen. She has become best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey...
as False Marissa - Vicky Krieps as Johanna Zadek
- Martin WuttkeMartin WuttkeMartin Wuttke is a German actor and director who reached international recognition for his portrayal of Adolf Hitler in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds.-Life and career:...
as Knepfler
Production
Filming locations included are Lake Kitka in KuusamoKuusamo
Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Oulu province and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
at Northeast Finland and several locations in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, including Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and administrative center of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.- History :Since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age, archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz...
, Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
's Studio Babelsberg, the water bridge at Magdeburg
Magdeburg Water Bridge
The Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany, opened in October 2003. It connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittellandkanal, crossing over the Elbe River...
, the abandoned East Berlin amusement park Spreepark
Spreepark
Spreepark was an entertainment park in the north of the Plänterwald in the Berlin district Treptow-Köpenick . It was also well known by its earlier name Kulturpark Plänterwald.-History:...
, and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Reeperbahn
Reeperbahn
The Reeperbahn is a street in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife and also the city's red-light district...
, and then Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate
-See also:* Tizi n'Tichka: The mountain pass that leads to Ouarzazate* List of Movies shot in Morocco-External links:* at IMDb...
and Essaouira
Essaouira
Mogador redirects here, for the hamlet in Surrey see Mogador, Surrey.Essaouira is a city in the western Moroccan economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, on the Atlantic coast. Since the 16th century, the city has also been known by its Portuguese name of Mogador or Mogadore...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Temperatures during the Finland shoot sometimes fell as low as -33°C, but Ronan said "Finland did bring out the fairy tale aspects of the story. We were shooting on a frozen lake, surrounded by pine trees covered in snow." Most of the filming occurred at Studio Babelsberg. Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...
and Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.- Early life :...
were previously attached to direct the film, before it was confirmed that Joe Wright would direct it, after Ronan prompted the producers to consider him.
Some shooting was done in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
: The bridge in the background where Eric leaves the water, is the Femer Bridge in northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He then kills two Danish police officers and later is seen lying on a bed reading a postcard, where the address says Aalsgaarde
Aalsgaarde
Ålsgårde is a settlement in Denmark, located on the northern coast side of Zealand, facing Øresund. It is part of the Helsingør municipality.Formerly Ålsgårde was a separate town, but today it has grown together with the neighbouring town of Hellebæk into an urban area with a population of 5,578...
, which is a city in the northern part of Zealand, Denmark.
The film's story and script were written by Seth Lochhead while a student in the Writing program at Vancouver Film School
Vancouver Film School
Vancouver Film School is a private entertainment arts school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1987, it has achieved international recognition. The Vancouver Film School has campus locations around Downtown Vancouver and comprises six buildings...
. He finalized the script in 2006 with David Farr
David Farr (theatre director)
David Farr is a writer, theatrical director and Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.-Background:Farr was brought up in Surrey and educated in Guildford and the University of Cambridge .- Career :...
providing later changes. Lochhead wrote the original story and script on spec
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
. Ronan commented on her character, saying: "We meet her as she goes out on her own, and when she does she is fascinated by everyone and everything she comes across. My favorite quality of hers is that she is non-judgmental; she shows an open mind to, and a fascination with, everything."
In an interview with Film School Rejects, Wright cited David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
as a major influence on Hanna. On The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
' score, he said: "You can expect an extraordinarily loud, thumping, deeply funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
y score that will not disappoint."
Marketing
On December 20, 2010, the first official trailer was released, the international trailer being released on February 3, 2011. On March 11, 2011, Focus Features released two television advertisements for their movie, which can be viewed on their YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
account under the playlist "Hanna". The official soundtrack, composed by The Chemical Brothers, was released 1 March 2011 on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
set up a promotional foursquare campaign featuring retailer HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
to celebrate the UK release of Hanna on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
. The campaign ran from 25th–28th August and invited fans of the film to participate in a 'Hunt for Hanna' to be in with a chance of winning a trip for two to Berlin. The competition took place in 3 locations around the UK and involved participants solving clues and checking into 6 locations within their city to be in with a chance of winning. All missions were set by the film's fictional character 'Marissa Wiegler' and the participants were encouraged to interact with her by notifying the character via email of when their mission was complete.
Critical response
Hanna received positive reviews; it holds a 71% favorable rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 196 reviews with the consensus stating "Fantastic acting and crisply choreographed action sequences propel this unique, cool take on the revenge thriller." Justin Chang of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
states that "Joe Wright's 'Hanna' is an exuberantly crafted chase thriller that pulses with energy from its adrenaline-pumping first minutes to its muted bang of a finish." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three and a half stars out of four, commenting "Wright combines his two genres into a stylish exercise that perversely includes some sentiment and insight".
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, on the other hand, gives the film two of five stars, stating "With its wicked-witch performance from Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
, its derivative premise, its bland Europudding location work and some frankly outrageous boredom, this will test everyone's patience." Kenneth Turan, of the Los Angeles Times, states that the film "starts off like a house afire but soon burns itself out". He states that even though the film is "[b]lessed with considerable virtues, including a clever concept, crackling filmmaking and a charismatic star, it ultimately squanders all of them, undone by an unfortunate lack of subtlety and restraint."