Plot: Hanna is now secretly trying to destroy Utrax from the inside and free herself from its grasp with the help of her previous nemesis, former-CIA agent Marissa Wiegler. Together they have coerced high-ranking Utrax agent John Carmichael into aiding their mission, but her fellow young assassins, Sandy and Jules, and new foes, including former military man and intelligence operative, Gordon Evans, are starting to suspect Hanna’s plot. As Hanna moves closer to her goal, she begins to uncover not only a world-changing agenda but the true power behind Utrax that stands between her and freedom.
Review: When Prime Video pushed the series premiere for Hanna on Super Bowl Sunday in 2019, I was unimpressed by the idea of what felt like an unnecessary remake of Joe Wright’s 2011 action flick starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, and Cate Blanchett. Hanna was a good movie that didn’t really break any box office records nor blow away critics, but co-writer David Farr had a vision that was not realized in the film. Taking his coming-of-age story and spreading it over a long-form narrative, Hanna the series offers a lot more explanation as to why these characters are the way they are. Always envisioned as a three-act tale, the final season of Hanna arrives with increased stakes for all involved and closes this story with a season that helps it eclipse the 2011 film as the best Hanna out there.
While the first season stayed fairly consistent with the overall story of the feature film, the superior second season explored new territory for Hanna and Marissa Wiegler. Where the film had a Wizard of Oz-like approach of pitting the young girl against the wicked witch, the series played more with the ambiguities between these characters which transforms them from adversaries to allies. Season two also introduced The Meadows, a training facility for the CIA’s UTRAX program, led by John Carmichael (Dermot Mulroney). Season three picks up where the prior season left off and immediately drops us right into the action. As Hanna and Marissa orchestrate their plan to take down UTRAX and the CIA, their motivations begin to get revealed as things finally come to a head.
What is immediately noticeable in season 3 is the growth of Esme Creed-Miles as Hanna. In the first season, she was a sheltered yet skilled girl who was learning how the world actually worked. Now, Creed-Miles portrays Hanna as a confident woman who has grown into her abilities but still has some reservations as to her place in the grand scheme of things. There is also an increased role for Mireille Enos as Marissa. A far more layered character compared to Cate Blanchett’s take on the role, Enos brings her massive talent to this character who goes through the most intense trials she has endured over the course of this series. It is also worth noting that the time working together has fostered chemistry between Creed-Miles and Enos that would make them worthy screen partners in any projects after the conclusion of Hanna.
The biggest addition to Hanna in the third season is veteran actor Ray Liotta. 2021 is turning out to be quite a year for the Goodfellas actor who has already had impressive turns in Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move and The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark. While Liotta does not play a gangster in Hanna, he does bring his trademark gravitas and menace to CIA authority Gordon Evans. Liotta is a masterful villain and the way he comes into this closing season of this series not only shakes up the dynamic of the main mission for Hanna and Marissa but unveils a new layer to this story that works really well. Anything I reveal about his role this season will be a spoiler, but needless to say he owns every moment he is on screen.
Production for the third season of Hanna shifted to the Czech Republic where the cast filmed under COVID-19 restrictions, but the quality does not miss a beat. The six-episode season was directed evenly between Sacha Polak and Weronika Tofilska who use the Prague shooting locations to great effect. This series has always used natural locations to enhance the look and feel of the story, but the European locales offer a nice balance to the story. The score also continues to be one of the best of any series from composers Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow who had the challenge of crafting a soundtrack that could compete with The Chemical Brothers feature film music. They manage to do so here with a suite of tracks that help drive the intensity of every single scene.
Hanna has a shortened conclusion due in equal parts to the pandemic and to David Farr’s desire for quality over quantity. This is a series that feels more like a faithful adaptation of a novel with all of the subplots and development kept intact. Joe Wright’s film may have been an action-adventure story, but Hanna works even better as a series. I would have liked to have seen some of the elements this season, like Liotta’s pivotal role and the shift in allegiances, a little more consistent with the first two seasons, but Hanna still represents the rare show that improves over each new year. There easily could have been more seasons of this show, but by wrapping it up on a high note, everyone involved has a complete tale that accomplishes the rare feat of being better than the original.
Hanna premieres its third and final season on November 24th on Prime Video.
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