Hanna

Not every movie must be driven by characters. Some may be pushed along by a Chemical Brothers soundtrack. Or so hopes director Joe Wright, most recently of The Soloist, who now brings us this steadily grooving but swiftly degenerating thriller. Saoirse Ronan plays a young teenager who grew up in the Scandinavian tundra, where she was trained by Eric Bana in the lethal-badass arts, and now rejoins the exotic, affectedly dangerous world. Wright’s style seems to consist of aping 10-year-old tricks and trying really hard to be cool, with Ronan doing her best to just get through all the desperately fancy camera moves and hesitant camp. Screenwriters Seth Lochhead and David Farr seem to enable Wright’s wandering and squandering: Shapeless supporting roles allow for an overacting Cate Blanchett and an underused Olivia Williams, and Bana passes the time by practicing his Werner Herzog impression. You might consider skipping the movie and just getting the soundtrack.