The Hunger Games Review

My Hunger Games Review

                I know that this review is more than a month late but the film just opened here in the Dominican Republic this week. Anyway, here is my first movie review and analysis of the film The Hunger Games directed by Gary Ross based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.

                First off, I’ve never read one word of the literary trilogy, so I went into the theater emotionally neutral to the source material. I had seen the book sitting on store shelves for a few years but was never felt an impulse to pick it up and read the inner cover leaflet summary. I learned what it was about in the months leading up to the release of the film through all the hype and internet buzz and immediately thought that it was just a PG-13 version of the over the top, flamboyant and brilliantly gory Japanese novel/film Battle Royale. After the film was released and positive word of mouth spread gangrenous, it began to peak my interest.

                Look, I really don’t understand its comparison to the Twilight series other than the fact that it’s being targeting to 13 year old girls. The trailers for HG actually made me WANT to see the movie see the movie instead of groan, cringe and vomit.

                Well, I’ve seen the film and I want entirely write it off. The story and acting were pretty solid. It was a good premise and set up to this cinematic universe. The actors brought their A-game with them this time around. It was easy to become emotionally invested in the CHARACTERS. Within the first reel of the picture, I felt the tension and anxiety felt by Katniss, her party Peeta and their family, leading up to the inevitable battle to the death that is showcased on the second act. I also loved the transition from the period piece feel of the backwoods coal town to sprawling modern metropolis and the awe inspiring reaction of our characters. Since being raised in Alabama and small town Central Pennsylvania to going to New York City and moving to the Dominican Republic afterwards, I could relate to this drastic change by the characters and their need to fit in to survive.

                What I could have done without is the ADHD shaky cam that permeated and ruined the first act. It added nothing to the story and made me feel nauseous. Also, the few visual effects sequences that they had in the film, to me, were not convincing. Maybe it’s because I have a little bit of knowledge in what’s involved in pulling off a convincing VFX composite, but I usually work on projects with no money versus a film that’s being produced for more than $50 million. When I saw the visual effects it took me out of the engrossing experience of the film and forced me to start criticizing the mistake. I also noted that the pacing of the film in general was slow for my taste. There wasn’t any room made for dry wit, quick humor or stylized action sequences, which given the material were probably not appropriate for this kind of thing anyway. It taxed my patience a bit to finally get to the games and once we were there to get to the next lackluster action sequence.

                Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about the replacement of director Gary Ross. Well, I can he’s not going to be missed. This is a kind of movie where you don’t pay attention to WHO brought it to the screen, you just care about it being ON THE SCREEN. It’s a total franchise picture like the Harry Potters, Twilights and original Star Wars films. When Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Constantine) takes over the reins for the sequel Catching Fire, it’s going to be the same thing. All we want is a good time at the cinema. Oh and another thing, though I enjoyed James Newton Howard’s score while I was watching the film, now I don’t remember why…hmmm, imagine that.

                Well, overall, great acting and premise made The Hunger Games worth checking out on the big screen. Maybe not the best executed adaptation to date but it’s easily forgiving because I actually CARED about the characters and not wanted them killed off in the first 10 minutes. I give the picture a solid 7/10.

                Next week, I will be writing a review for the highly anticipated Marvel mash up, The Avengers.

Until next time

KJF