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I'm a "late adopter" from a family of late adopters: our household was way behind the curve getting a microwave and an answering machines. ATM Cards were in common usage before I got one and "Pottermania" was sweeping the world before I read J.K. Rowling's first novel. When The Hunger Games was released I gave it a pass: to me it seemed like just another work of dystopian sci fi. Still, the movie came out to pretty much universal praise so I decided to have a look. What I saw was pretty amazing but I was left wanting more.
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Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games came up with the idea for the novel after serving in the Middle East and watching Survivor on television. The fable she created of children battling to the death featured bits on stylists, coaches and show producers that put an interesting spin on the story. And, of course there's a romantic triangle to get the teenie-boppers invested and just enough politics to pique the curiosity of the intelligentsia. Still, enough about the plot--if you want the rest of the story read the books or see the movie.
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Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss inhabits her role and gives a stoic perforamnce: I don't know what it is about her acting but there's something in her performance that makes you root for her. Josh Hutcheson (Peeta) and Liam Hemsworth (Gale) are the other two sides of the triangle. Hutcheson plays his cardboard character well but Hemsworth doesn't have enough screen time to make much of an impression. (He'll play a larger part in the sequels.) The big moments come from supporting players Stanley Tucci (channeling Ryan Seacrest in the role of Ceasar Flckerman) Wes Bentley (who has the unenviable task of playing Seneca Crane--show runner of The Hunger Games broadcast), and Donald Sutherland as President Snow (a deep-thinking father figure with a heart as cold as his last name.) I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Elizabeth Banks in the role of Effie Trinket who gets credit for surviving the outlandish costumes she has to wear. Mark my words--you'll see some of these folks come Oscar time! The Hunger Games should be well-represented at the 2013 Oscars in Makeup, Cinematography and Set Design.
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Going in to The Hunger Games I was a bit worried that I might not be able to fully understand the story without having read the books: the good news is that you don't need the books to enjoy the movie. Still, more than once I found myself asking "who is...?" or "why did they...?" or some other similar question. That being said--I LOVE explanations and I suspect most folk won't even notice that many plot points are left out.
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The Hunger Games isn't one of the best movies of all time but it's certainly one of the best this year. Makes me wonder why the studio decided to release it so early in the year and why they had such a severe press embargo until literally the day before the movie opened: that's usually a sign the studio doesn't have faith in the release. Still, the movie is well worth seeing and I imagine it will play well if you see it more than once.
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FINAL GRADE: A
2 comments:
I haven't even read the books, nor do I have a desire to after reading the blurb review on the books. 'Same story different day' was my thought on the matter.
Your review of the movie pretty much tells me it's one of those that you either like, or walk away shrugging your shoulders and saying 'meh'.
I've always been fascinated by our relationship with the mass media so this was interesting to me. If you are a fan of "Reality" TV you might find it worth a look--and visually it's very interesting.
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