Hanna - First Impressions - Review
I'll be posting a more in-depth review sometime this weekend, but since Hanna was just released on Amazon Prime on March 28, 2019, I thought I'd at least give my first impressions.
Warning - this review has a couple of spoilers (not really but...). My next review will have all the good tidbits, coming soon...
Here is the official description of the show:
“Hanna”
In equal parts high-concept thriller and coming-of-age drama, HANNA follows the journey of an extraordinary young girl raised in the forest, as she evades the relentless pursuit of an off-book CIA agent and tries to unearth the truth behind who she is.
Now that the technical stuff is out of the way, here is my initial review...
Okay, so yes I did watch the movie this Hanna series is based off. I think that might be my issue with the first episode. I will admit that some of the training scenes with Hanna and her father are really cool to watch. But for, that's about as exciting as it gets for the first episode. I think this is one of those series where you just have to muster through the first episode and keep watching. I did and I was pleasantly surprised that I was pulled in.
Although I am not reviewing the whole first season now in this review, I have watched every episode...
I think as an American, it's much harder for me to truly appreciate the feel and landscape of Europe as much as I'd hope to. I always need more to pull me, to get past the foreignness of what I'm experiencing. And sometimes the casting of certain key roles have for lack of a better word, helped me out the door, letting great concept shows be forgotten.
Now, having said that, what saved this show for me, kept me watching episode after episode till the end of the first season...was the casting of two outstanding actresses - Esme Creed-Miles who plays the lead, Hanna, and Rhianne Barreto who plays Hanna's one friend, Sophie.
Both of these actresses bring something different to the table, and I think they are the reason why I kept watching. Esme Creed-Miles plays Hanna in a very subtle but intense way. Her character is new to the world at large after living in isolation her whole life, yet she is a trained killer. Rhianne Barreto plays Sophie with independent teenage flare, yet with compassion and intelligence. Both actresses embody innocence and intelligence. They are two sides of a shared heart. Sophie's character keeps this from just being another action thriller that has been done before. It is really Episode 2 - Friend that needs to be watched.
In Episode 2 - Friend, you get the juxtaposition of the whole premise of this show, the real world, and Hanna's world. And many times, throughout this series those two worlds are not the same, Sophie is on planet Earth while Hanna is on planet Mars looking back towards Earth wondering what is going on. That also explains the strange dynamics of their friendship.
The official description of Episode 2 - Friend is at the heart of this whole series.
"Friend - Following her capture by Marissa's men, Hanna must fight to escape from Moroccan CIA facility and join Erik [Hanna's father] in Berlin. Along the way, she meets Sophie, a British teenager on holiday with her family, who gives Hanna her first proper taste of the real world and the thrill of adolescence. Yet despite this glimpse at normality, the threat of Marissa and her operatives is never far behind."
With this episode, we go from the intensity of Hanna kicking ass as she escapes a secret government facility to the normal teenage drama of Sophie and her family going on a road trip. The comedic relief that is so needed with the dark intensity that surrounds Hanna.
The way these two girls meet was funny and I enjoyed it a lot. In the desert, stumbled upon by accident, on the run by dangerous shadowy types. But, after seeing what Hanna can do, should the hunters not be more afraid of her then they are? You would think Yes when you watch her kick ass, no, when she decimates the enemy.
Like I said, this was just my first impression of Hanna. I think it's worth giving a watch. I enjoyed it enough to watch the season finale. Check it out and let me know what you think by leaving a comment. In the meantime, I'll be writing a more in-depth review. Hopefully, this was enough to whet your appetite for a new show to experience.
Hanna is available to watch now on Amazon Prime.
I'll just leave with this...I'm intrigued as to where Season 2 will go to next. I know I'll be waiting, hoping it gets renewed for another season.
