Saoirse Ronan is shown in a scene from “Hanna.”

Reminiscent of Kick-ass, where a 13-year-old Chloe Grace Moretz ruthlessly shot, slashed and eviscerated an entire extras cast while spewing expletives rapid-fire style, Hanna, starring the young, alabaster-skinned Saoirse Ronan, plunges us into a violent, unpredictable world where CIA conspiracy theories, maniacal henchmen and gun-wielding teenagers run amok in a maelstrom of glorious violence. Considering the first lines of the film are I?just missed your heart, followed by a deafening gunshot, its near impossible not to become enraptured in this engaging fairy tale world.

Hanna, directed by the hit-and-miss Joe Wright (The Atonement, Pride &?Prejudice), starts off in the cold, desolate wilderness of northern Finland. There, were introduce to the deceptively dangerous Hanna (portrayed by the talented Ronan, The Lovely Bones) and her rugged, animal skin-draped father, Erik (Eric Bana, Hulk). Blanketed by the ever-present snow, Erik has been training Hanna in hand-to-hand combat, firearms and every other form of attack possible, along with memorization and language skills, for as long as she can remember. Its a cruel life, but one that seems to have a purpose when Hanna declares shes ready to move on to the next stage of this demented sequence. It only gets odder as Hanna and Erik begin their separate journeys. In a patchwork of action-movie themes including covert intelligence operations and martial arts sequences mashed with the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the films writers, Seth Lochhead and David Farr, pit Hanna against the strikingly cruel Marissa Wiegler (played by the menacing Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age), her for-hire goons and the world itself as she tries to unravel the secrets of her life. Along the way, the previously sequestered Hanna, in wide-eyed fascination, is shown the ways of the world, including making her first friend and visiting foreign countries on her own.

Bringing far more skill to this film than to he did to Atonement, director Wright has shown he can learn from his mistakes. While he still has a penchant for the shaky camera, it adds dramatic effect here, whereas it was just annoying before. In the first scene, for instance, Wright used dynamic shot composition with fluid movements to showcase the complex relationship between Hanna and her father; however, he deftly switched gears when chases ensued (and there were plenty). But it wasnt just Wright who made this film come to life: The soundtrack, exclusively by The Chemical Brothers, was truly astounding. Perfectly balancing between its well-known bass-thumping tunes and some more airy melodies, the group made the movie that much more enjoyable. And considering the extent to which sound was utilized in this film from eerily silent in the wilderness to the overwhelming noise generated in the city thats saying multitudes.

On top of the behind-the-scene direction, several gifted actors graced the screen in this film. Ronan is simply arresting as the star of this modern-day fairy tale. As you watch her glide across the screen in graceful sweeps, you just cant help but think that this lanky teenager could snap your neck with ease if she so chose. Blanchett, in her evil queen/Big Bad Wolf mix of a CIA?agent with some serious OCD issues, is an amazing villain, adding doses of depravity you would only expect in a Quentin Tarantino film. And Bana, while playing a smaller role (honestly, though, the story is not about him), is solid as the father figure.

In the end, while Hanna is a coked-up blend of action movies and fairy tales, its an absolute knock-out, leaving you jaw-dropped and white-knuckled in equal measures. So get ready for two hours of pulse-racing, fist-flying, gun-slinging action, because its definitely worth the price of admission.

Four stars out of five.

Dominic Baez is the copy editor/paginator for the East Oregonian. Follow his movie blog, Silver Screening, for the latest trailers, clips and extras at silverscreening.wordpress.com.