Hanna is not your everyday normal film. It’s abstract but a first rate thriller. The opening scene in snowy wild Finland, shows a teenage girl, Hanna, (Saorise Ronan, “The Lovely Bones”, “Atonement”) killing a deer with a bow and arrow.

As she is gutting it, a man sneaks up behind her and the two engage in serious hand to hand combat. The man, Erik (Eric Bana, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, “Hulk”-2003) turns out to be her father who has raised her with ruthless killing skills because everyone is her enemy.

She was raised deep in the woods as they both lived alone. When she was ready to be on her own, he sets her free only to soon be captured by ruthless CIA headhunters lead by her mother, Marissa (Cate Blanchett, “The Curious case of Benjamin Button”, “Lord of the Rings”) for interrogation in a underground intelligence facility. That doesn’t last long when she snaps a neck with just a hug and is on the run from that point on.

Hanna’s high-tech survival skills are put into motion through the rest of the film and what a mean girl. Don’t even try to sneak a kiss from her as you will feel the consequences. She has never met anyone in her life, never been on her own, then she first discovers electricity, then music. It is from these discoveries she slowly sees how she came to be what she is. Some of the details are kept from us but most is made clear. Hanna has no emotion and shows no fear and reminds me somewhat of the little girl in “Kick-Ass”.

She is able to run very fast, hitch a ride in the under carriage of a hummer and guess what else? She is able to leap over tall storage cars at a docking station and swim deep waters. Look out Jamie from “The Bionic Woman”. It’s like a fairy tale with her mother playing the wicked stepmother.

Erik, in hot pursuit of his daughter trying to protect her from Marissa and her operatives, demonstrated some fine fighting skill of his own, after all, he trained Hanna. There is a shot of him shirtless but it just seemed his character was wasted (not drunk) and had little camera time and wasn’t used much. It was all about Hanna. Director Joe Wright (“Atonment”) is on to something here but why does Hollywood insist of having teen kids are villains? Does it not present a bad image to others?

Halfway through the the movie is Hanna seeking shelter in a Gingerbread type house, a secret hideaway supposedly, all within satellite and open eye range. Not much of a hideaway as her mother and company quickly move in on her, killing anyone in their path. Of course Hanna flees again and with Erik still in hot foot pursuit, he fights off what trail she has and himself for that matter, have. But Marissa is one step ahead and with a gun.

Meanwhile, Hanna stumbles across a British family on vacation and this is her first encounter with someone who is not her enemy. A normal family and she befriends their daughter, Sophie (Jessica Barden). The girl seems the same age as Hanna and this all seems strange to her but is actually very touching as the girl witnesses Hanna fighting off the CIA enemies.

Bana has had better scripts and is a fine actor but why did he pick a movie he hardly appeared in and gets second billing? Ask his agent. Mine hasn’t called this hustler yet. The action here is top notch and not mindless, but there is a lot of CGI scenes here that I will let you pick out of which seems real and what is a fallacy. One of my favorite lines by Hanna as she is shoots her ‘prey’ with an arrow, is “Oh, I must of just missed your heart” as she then shoots. And she proclaims this with convincing authority as if she is talking to the audience.

Writers Seth Lochhead and David Farr help contribute to this effective, violent, stylish fantasy. The soundtrack buy the Chemical Brothers, although exciting, doesn’t do much for the film. Maybe one of the few weak points.

“Hanna” opens in theaters April 8, 2011 and is rated PG-13. Perfect for an action/adventure/thriller.

By Hustlin Bob Higgins