Hanna

I was unreasonably psyched about this movie. I love a good spy flick, and the child assassin theme of this film resonates with a lot of my own work. I also adore Cate Blanchett. The movie was showing 73% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes the day I went. My hopes were high.

Walking out of the theater, I couldn't help but feel dissatisfied. Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed this movie. I had a good time watching it.

I just wanted more.

Director Joe Wright was clearly in love with the face of lead actress Saoirse Ronan, and indeed she had an intriguing and interesting look. It takes an amazing actress, however, to carry that much camera time successfully, and though perhaps Ronan will reach that level one day, she's not there yet. The plot was entirely predictable, but they implemented it stylishly enough that I was willing to forgive a lot of its weaknesses. Blanchett phoned in her performance, and her southern accent mutated faster than the Andromeda Strain, but damn, she is amazing to look at.

In the end, though, I wanted a complete movie, one with a plot whose every move I did not see coming, with characters who were not entirely predictable, and I didn't get it. I did get a pleasant two hours for my money, and usually that's enough for me, but that night it wasn't.