Hanna parents guide

Hanna Parent Guide

Any positive messages about survival or looking out for others are assassinated by the graphic violence, which will likely leave parents searching for other alternatives.

Overall C-

Raised in the wilds of Finland, Hanna's father has trained his daughter to be the perfect assassin. Now the ex-CIA agent is sending the girl out on a mission across Europe where she must outwit and outrun a ruthless intelligence officer who is closing in on her trail.

Release date April 8, 2011

Violence D+
Sexual Content B
Profanity C-
Substance Use B

Why is Hanna rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Hanna PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language.

Run Time: 100 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

The silver screen gives birth to another natural born killer—a lithe teenager with wispy blonde hair who goes by the name of Hanna (Saoirse Ronan). Raised in the Finnish wilderness by her father Erik (Eric Bana), a former CIA man, Hanna faces survival training each day. Here she learns to take down a large animal with a makeshift bow and eviscerate it with her bare hands and a hunting knife (we see some of the details of the process). Then from behind comes a potential killer, her father, reminding her she must always be at the ready.

Finally the day arrives when the sixteen-year-old determines to put her extensive training into practice. Separating from her father, Hanna begins a mission that will wrap up some unfinished business involving her family, with the hope of reuniting with her Dad in Berlin. But American agents capture Hanna and she is detained in an underground facility in the Moroccan desert. A short bloodbath later, the adolescent makes her escape and begins a journey toward her eventual goal. However the US agents aren’t willing to say goodbye just yet, especially chief operative Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett). With the young killing machine being pursued by trained assassins at every move, Hanna (and those she comes in contact with) is in constant danger.

Produced with a definite European flavor, this action story doesn’t hold back on violence even with a teen protagonist pushing the plot. Guns, knives and hand-to-hand combat are unleashed in a variety of scenarios, with death and serious injury left in their path. These are accompanied by gory details. Even the typically benign action of using a toothbrush turns into a close-up of advanced gingivitis (bleeding gums). The excuses for blood effects are only interrupted by a few quieter moments in which Hanna makes friends with Sophie (Jessica Barden), a girl who is travelling with her family and offers to stowaway the solitary stranger. Although the bullets take a breather in these scenes, some sexuality is introduced. Sophie explains she is considering a lesbian lifestyle and her parents are later overheard having sex. At least profanities are infrequent, but there is still a single sexual expletive, a term of Christian deity and a string of scatological outbursts.

Unfortunately Hanna follows in the same plot ruts of many proceeding films. While it is true that the unassailable main character who leaves a wake of bodies in their path isn’t often a waiflike teen girl, and not all action flicks feature European scenery (a novelty for North American audiences), the gratuitous content is just like most other offerings in this genre. Consequently, any positive messages about survival or looking out for others are assassinated by the graphic violence, which will likely leave parents searching for other alternatives.

Directed by Joe Wright . Starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana . Running time: 100 minutes. Theatrical release April 8, 2011. Updated

Hanna
Rating & Content Info

Why is Hanna rated PG-13? Hanna is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language.

Violence: Scenes frequently depict altercations involving guns, blade weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Some examples of this violence include: A character’s neck is twisted and broken, resulting in her death. A person shoots into a fast moving car, causing it to crash and killing one occupant. A character is stabbed with a ballpoint pen. While on a date, a girl asks a boy if they should kiss and as he moves closer to her she pulls him to the ground and physically assaults him. A man is killed and is later seen hanging upside down. Animals are eviscerated with a hunting knife.

Sexual Content: A teen girl discusses exploring a lesbian lifestyle. A person is described as having both male and female genitalia. A character discusses female genitalia in a clinical manner. Sexual sounds are overheard.

Language: The script includes a single sexual expletive, a term of Christian deity used as an expletive, and scatological profanities.

Drugs/Alcohol: Social drinking.

Other: A few scenes have rapid, brightly flashing lights that may cause discomfort or medical issues for some viewers.

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Hanna Parents' Guide

With the right training, how powerful could a person the size of Hanna become? Why might we enjoy watching someone like her defeat people who appear much stronger?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Hanna movie is September 6, 2011. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Hanna

Release Date:  9 September 2011

Hanna releases to DVD and Blu-ray on September 6, 2011. Bonus extras include:

- Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending

- Anatomy of a Scene: The Escape From Camp G

- Feature Commentary with Director Joe Wright

Exclusive HD Content

- Adapt or Die

- Central Intelligence Allegory

- Chemical Reaction

- The Wide World of Hanna

- Hanna Promo

Related home video titles:

Actress Saoirse Ronan takes on another chilling role as a murdered child in The Lovely Bones. She also plays a starving refugee in the WWII movie The Way Back and a teen living in a crumbling subterranean community in City of Ember.