Hunger Games (2012)
Summary
Genre: Action, AdventureGoodies:
Accurate representation of the book, aesthetically pleasingBaddies:
A bit slow in parts, not enough actionSet in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister’s place for the latest match.
The Hunger Games is a film that obviously had a lot of hype due to the success of the books. Even though I am someone who does not read for pleasure very often, when the books first came out someone suggested them to me (as I like death game scenarios) and was highly impressed with the book. The story follows Katniss Everdeen on her journey to the arena where a male and female citizen from each of the 12 districts must battle to the death. These battles happen as a reminder from the capital of it’s help to the districts during their rebellion. The film has some nods to WWII, I would parallell, so if you are into that sort of thing, bonus points (event he aesthetic of the 12th district was very Nazi Germany-esque once The Capital arrives). Katniss must battle herself throughout the film in order to shed some of her hardened shell in order to survive (which is a nice twist, as normally someone would have to add on layers in order to survive). Half of the movie takes place to the leadup of the arena and the latter half is the fighting and action pieces of the film. During the entire first half, I was just waiting for them to get into the arena, but upon review, I think the parts leading up to the arena were more powerful than those during. If you have read the book, the arena almost feels rushed in the film. While I am on the topic of book vs. movie (never though i’d be one of those people) – the film paints an accurate representation of the book,
Spoilers
** SPOILERS **
but with some misses, in my opinion. First – The film doesn’t develop Katniss and Gale’s love story in a way that has you torn between her decisions. They allude to this with a few glances during the film, but a primary focus of Katniss’ resistance to playing along with the love story with Peeta is her love for Gale, which is barely displayed in the film. The film also did not do a great job explaining how the lottery works – again, they allude to lottery tickets for food rations, but never really describe it in detail, which is the basis for the Hunger Games. Also, at the beginning a huge focus of Katniss’ training is that district 12 is not allowed to hunt in the woods, but this is how she survives – but skip right over this illegal activity (they show hunting, but that is it). The last thing is Rue’s death. Once Katniss and Rue teamup, it feels like Rue is alive for 20 seconds, which is one of the most pivitol moments of the book. When Rue dies (someone who reminds her of her sister), Katniss’ hate for the Capital grows, and eventually marks her decision to defy the Capital at the end of the film – all of the other differences I can handle, but this seemed lackluster.
**END SPOILERS **
With that said, the film felt kind of long, so despite my complaints, I am not sure what else they could have done. Overall, the film was great, Jennifer Lawrence was an awesome Katniss and exactly how I imagined her (despite almost none of the rest of the film being how I imagined it). If you have read the book and enjoyed it , then I feel like you will like the movie, and even if you haven’t read the book, the film is great (although not sure if those lack of explanations I spoke about would affect someone who couldn’t fill in the holes). Regardless, worth a watch in theaters, for sure! One last note – If you haven’t seen Jennifer Lawrence’s Winter’s Bone, it is an amazing film and an amazing performance.
Rating: 
