The Hunger Games review
“The world will be watching.” This tagline for The Hunger Games couldn’t have been truer. In the opening weekend The Hunger Games grossed $155 million in the US alone and world wide it grossed $214.3 million. From these impressive numbers it would seem that The Hunger Games certainly lived up to the hype leading up to the release. But let’s take a closer look. *Mild spoilers may be present in this review*
First off, I will say that I have both read the book and seen the movie and I loved both. The movie is not a perfect adaptation but compared to some others, this movie does a pretty good job. The only thing that feels ‘off’ about this being an adaptation is that at times you can tell that there had to be more to a scene in the book as the movie scene feels like a shell of the true moment. Making up for this however is the excellent acting. Jennifer Lawrence as the leading Katniss Everdeen was spectacular. Even in moments where Lawrence is not speaking her facial expressions perfectly portray her emotions in the moment and deliver the proper affect. Lawrence brought life into her role and creates a character that is truly likeable and “desired”. Josh Hutcherson delivers an impressive performance as Peeta Mellark and makes the audience continually grow to like him as the movie progresses. The supporting cast was all in great form as well. Woody Harrelson delivered a great role even though it wasn’t as large as the one in the book. Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket was spectacular and delivered some very funny lines in the movie. Lenny Kravitz shined as Cinna and Wes Bentley and Donald Sutherland brought amazing life into their characters as Seneca Crane and President Snow respectively. One of the stand out supporting roles was Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman. Tucci made this character larger than life and have a charismatic nature that you cannot help but love. Lastly, I will mention Amandla Stenberg and Dayo Okeniyi as Rue and Thresh, the tributes from District 11. Although these roles were small, you cannot help but cheer them on and want to learn more about them. The pair did an amazing job.
The musical score to the movie was phenomenal and deeply added to the experience. What shocked me was that the select moments of musical silence were just as amazing. The silence in some parts really added to the seriousness of the moment. Nicely done! When it comes to the story, the movie had the benefit of having Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games) co-write the screenplay. So any scenes that were added felt natural and really added to the experience of the story. The movie was a little less graphic than the book but you cannot let that ruin your experience. There was still plenty of action and deaths in the arena. The portrayal of District 12 and how poor The Seam was was handled nicely. Though Katniss is hunting in a much nicer leather jacket than what I had imagined from the book for someone who is poor. One thing that surprised me is that viewers who did not read the book really have to piece clues together to understand that there was at once 13 districts and that one was destroyed which led to the creation of The Hunger Games.
The movie is well paced and when we get to the Capitol, things start to really get interesting. The citizens of the Capitol are portrayed outstandingly but the movie shifts some of the ‘evilness’ of the citizens to President Snow who got a larger role in the movie. This is not a terrible thing but the audience should still feel wary of the citizens considering they are watching and betting on teenagers fighting to their deaths. The first truly stunning moment at the Capitol comes when the tributes (the chosen two from each district who will fight to the death in the arena) enter the Capitol Center in the Tribute Ceremony and you finally get to see Katniss and Peeta’s fire outfits. I was simply blown away when I saw the District 12 tributes enter the ceremony in flames. The look and special effects used were perfect. As the actual Hunger Games begin you get a look at the Games Control Room (added for the film) which looks great! We see the workers sitting at stations around a futuristic holographic arena map that shows us the full arena. It was a shame that we didn’t get to see more of the actual arena in the movie than what we saw in the book. The moment where the seconds literally tick down on a countdown clock until the tributes will fight to their death was fantastic. The scene is silent with only the ticking of the clock that sounds like a heartbeat as the tributes look around at each other. At that moment I could feel my own heart beating with the clock in anticipation. The hand-to-hand combat was handled with a shaky camera that bothered some but I did not find it bad at all. The moments where this happens are over quick and I felt the affect of the shakiness added to the fight that I was watching. Had it been a still camera the scene would have been completely different. Another moment that fans are split on is the muttations that are set loose in the arena. Through DNA manipulation, these Capitol created mutated wolves had facial features distinct to specific fallen tributes in the book but did not in the movie. I thought this was the right move. Putting the face on CG creatures had the potential to look awful, as it has in some films. On the other hand, not putting the faces on the wolves took away some of the sadistic nature of the Capitol.
The movie brings the book’s narrative into the film in some very interesting and fun ways. In some parts you had Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith filling in the audience of key notes as they filmed the Games broadcast that would be televised to all the districts. In others you had Katniss’ personal narrative delivered as small notes from Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) which delivered appropriate laughs around the theater. The love story that the book delivers could have been turned up just a little in my own opinion. The love story is understood to be there, but it’s the finer details of it (especially at the end of the movie) that needed more attention. There were two moments that were added to the movie however that received appropriate detail. A heartbreaking scene is added that illustrates the displeasure of the Capitol in District 11 that really makes the audience sit in awe at the scene’s foreshadowing nature. Secondly, Cato deliver’s a speech within the arena that was not in the book that makes his character much deeper and gives the audience a further understanding of the twisted nature that the Games creates. The speech was powerful and I am glad that it was added.
The musical score to the movie was phenomenal and deeply added to the experience. What shocked me was that the select moments of musical silence were just as amazing. The silence in some parts really added to the seriousness of the moment. Nicely done! When it comes to the story, the movie had the benefit of having Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games) co-write the screenplay. So any scenes that were added felt natural and really added to the experience of the story. The movie was a little less graphic than the book but you cannot let that ruin your experience. There was still plenty of action and deaths in the arena. The portrayal of District 12 and how poor The Seam was was handled nicely. Though Katniss is hunting in a much nicer leather jacket than what I had imagined from the book for someone who is poor. One thing that surprised me is that viewers who did not read the book really have to piece clues together to understand that there was at once 13 districts and that one was destroyed which led to the creation of The Hunger Games.
The movie is well paced and when we get to the Capitol, things start to really get interesting. The citizens of the Capitol are portrayed outstandingly but the movie shifts some of the ‘evilness’ of the citizens to President Snow who got a larger role in the movie. This is not a terrible thing but the audience should still feel wary of the citizens considering they are watching and betting on teenagers fighting to their deaths. The first truly stunning moment at the Capitol comes when the tributes (the chosen two from each district who will fight to the death in the arena) enter the Capitol Center in the Tribute Ceremony and you finally get to see Katniss and Peeta’s fire outfits. I was simply blown away when I saw the District 12 tributes enter the ceremony in flames. The look and special effects used were perfect. As the actual Hunger Games begin you get a look at the Games Control Room (added for the film) which looks great! We see the workers sitting at stations around a futuristic holographic arena map that shows us the full arena. It was a shame that we didn’t get to see more of the actual arena in the movie than what we saw in the book. The moment where the seconds literally tick down on a countdown clock until the tributes will fight to their death was fantastic. The scene is silent with only the ticking of the clock that sounds like a heartbeat as the tributes look around at each other. At that moment I could feel my own heart beating with the clock in anticipation. The hand-to-hand combat was handled with a shaky camera that bothered some but I did not find it bad at all. The moments where this happens are over quick and I felt the affect of the shakiness added to the fight that I was watching. Had it been a still camera the scene would have been completely different. Another moment that fans are split on is the muttations that are set loose in the arena. Through DNA manipulation, these Capitol created mutated wolves had facial features distinct to specific fallen tributes in the book but did not in the movie. I thought this was the right move. Putting the face on CG creatures had the potential to look awful, as it has in some films. On the other hand, not putting the faces on the wolves took away some of the sadistic nature of the Capitol.
The movie brings the book’s narrative into the film in some very interesting and fun ways. In some parts you had Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith filling in the audience of key notes as they filmed the Games broadcast that would be televised to all the districts. In others you had Katniss’ personal narrative delivered as small notes from Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) which delivered appropriate laughs around the theater. The love story that the book delivers could have been turned up just a little in my own opinion. The love story is understood to be there, but it’s the finer details of it (especially at the end of the movie) that needed more attention. There were two moments that were added to the movie however that received appropriate detail. A heartbreaking scene is added that illustrates the displeasure of the Capitol in District 11 that really makes the audience sit in awe at the scene’s foreshadowing nature. Secondly, Cato deliver’s a speech within the arena that was not in the book that makes his character much deeper and gives the audience a further understanding of the twisted nature that the Games creates. The speech was powerful and I am glad that it was added.
Overall, the movie is exceptionally well done and I would recommend it to everyone. It may not be a perfect adaptation but it comes close and delivers an extremely great story. You'll find yourself mixed with emotions as you both laugh and cry your way through the film. I applaud the cast and crew of this film as they have created a phenomenal start to what will hopefully be an amazing trilogy.
Rating: 9/10
"May the odds be ever in your favor."
Rating: 9/10
"May the odds be ever in your favor."
I also loved cato's added speech, which I think adds to the meaning of the movie's message where it had to be cut out in other places, as well as making cato not all that bad a person which I have no problem with. And also the riot scene, I really agree with them adding that in the movie also. It's rare that people add extra stuff to movies and they work perfectly.
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