Once upon a time, a widowed father (Eric Bana) kept his feral daughter, Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), in a remote Finland shell, teaching her to hunt, fight and kill like an assassin. Social skills, not so much. Now, at 16, Hanna is pushed into the real world and the dangers of wicked witch Marissa (Cate Blanchett, superb), a CIA agent who shares dark secrets with Hanna's dad.

Get more news, reviews and interviews from Peter Travers on The Travers Take

And so begins a fairy tale of lightning speed, gritty action and shocking gravity, all driven by the electronic beat of a hypnotic score by the Chemical Brothers. The gifted Brit director Joe Wright excels at knocking you off balance and forcing you to rearrange his puzzle pieces in your head. Out of a script by David Farr and Seth Lochhead, Wright (his Atonement won an Oscar nod for Ronan) carves a surreal fable of blood and regret. Ronan is an acting sorceress, and her scenes with the excellent Bana cut bone-deep. As Hanna is pursued across Europe, hoping to reunite with her father in Berlin, we watch her in the act of inventing herself. A funny, too-brief encounter with an English family on holiday lets Hanna talk boys with their daughter (sass queen Jessica Barden) and almost annihilate one lad who dares to make a move. But as Hanna confronts her past, the movie becomes like nothing you've ever seen. I'd call it a knockout.

The Complete Archive: Over 20 Years of Peter Travers' Movie Reviews Now Online

“More Than a Feeling”

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was as surprised by anyone when he sent his unsolicited demo to record labels and got back a positive response. Scholz said, “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody knew who we were, so I wouldn’t even say we were struggling. It was groveling.” Part of the credit for the interest must go to the anthemic rock number "More Than a Feeling." Inspired by the Left Banke's 1966 hit "Walk Away Renee," Scholz worked on the song for five years in his basement studio before it was released on this album.