Hanna movie was a "delicious surprise," but the TV adaptation is a disappointment

Variety

On the eight-episode Amazon series, Esmé Creed-Miles takes over Saoirse Ronan' role from the 2011 Joe Wright movie as a 15-year-old girl trained to be a killing machine. "That filmic achievement, the ability to remain upright in the midst of mania, is what makes Amazon’s new series adaptation of Hanna so disappointing," says Daniel D'Addario. "The new show lacks the glimmering creativity of its source material, and, perversely enough, it manages to feel overstuffed despite its relative lack of inventive flourishes. In expanding the lean story of Hanna out to eight episodes, the series has sacrificed the enigma at the story’s heart; that so many opportunities to do something visually distinctive get passed over ends up being the show’s greatest mystery."

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• Hanna is a blast to watch: Esmé Creed-Miles, Samantha Morton's daughter, is riveting in an otherworldly way
• She may be the titular character, but Hanna feels more like an afterthought in her own series
• What makes Hanna worth watching is it’s emotional poignancy
• Hanna tries to strike a balance between coming-of-age drama and action thriller with this opening episode, but only the former really feels successful
• Hanna is more violent, less visually interesting and more emotional than the 2011 film
• Hanna would be better off not sticking to the framework of the movie
• Esmé Creed-Miles wasn't a physical kind of person before Hanna: "It was very intimidating. It’s weird how your body just adapts, though"