When a trailer starts with Eric Bana telling a young girl who was raised in the woods, "You're dead. I've killed you," you know you're in for something a little different. Especially when the next shot is of said girl running and screaming like a banshee over a pulsing score from the Chemical Brothers. Thankfully, the trailer for Hanna never looses steam, veering wildly from Kick-Ass-style cool to fairy-tale wonder to the tender, coming of age moments of the titular young assassin, played by Saoirse Ronan. Oh, and it's from the director of Pride and Prejudice and Atonement.
It's hard to tell who is setting up who, who is being used or who to even root for in this trailer. This much is clear: For better or worse, Ronan wants a CIA official played by Cate Blanchett dead. And, based on the tense scene where she murders several armed guards and escapes an interrogation, it seems likely that she knows how to make this happen. In fact, she has spent her whole life training in the woods under Eric Bana, who really wants Blanchett dead. It's hard to tell who is right or wrong, but Ronan's stuck in the middle, confused and very deadly.
Between the intriguing hints at plot, the great cast, and the snow-covered carnivalesque imagery of the trailer (that giant wolf mouth that Blanchett walks out of is great!), this movie looks like a refreshing departure from the norm. Here's hoping the film lives up to it.
Verdict: Sold.