Details:
The Hunger Games
Based on the book by Suzanne Collins
Release Date: March 12, 2012
Lionsgate Films
Directed by Gary Ross
Living in poverty stricken District 12, in the outskirts of the country of Panem, young Katniss Everdeen has a hard life. In this dystopian future, the people of Panem's districts live everyday on the edge of starvation, and every year they are forced to watch in horror as one boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are taken from each of the 12 districts to fight to the death on a televised event called the Hunger Games.
Discussion:
So I was "hmming" and "hawwing" about which movie to review first because there is just so many that I want to talk about, but those will all come in good time. I wanted to pick something that would also fit in the same 'feel' as Sabriel. You know, strong female protagonist and also a bit dark so I thought this was fitting. Also if I am being 100% honest, I wanted to pick something a bit more popular so more people could relate to it.
I am happy to say that I read the Hunger Games book before the movie came out and I was fairly impressed by the way it turned out. It seems to be happening a lot these days where they take an awesome book series and decide it needs to become a movie series. For a lot of us book lovers, the picture to the side rings absolutely true when Hollywood takes a beloved book or series and tries to summarize it in a two hour feature film. For some, we wish they would take one book and make it as long as the Lord of the Rings extended edition. It also had better be perfectly cast and follow the plot to a T and not miss a single detail.
That all being said, I think that after realizing through the Twilight series what a huge profit they could make by taking a popular book series and making it into a movie franchise - they also realized that they need to keep the fans happy. To that purpose I think they are doing their best to stay true to the spirit of a book if not to the plot. I think that is what they managed to do with the Hunger Games.
The way the movie was filmed was definitely different and interesting and reminded me somewhat of an independent film at the beginning. It was very artistic and gritty. They did an awesome casting job as well, Jenifer Lawrence was definitely a great pick for the role of Katniss. I don't want to give too much away, although I don't think there are too many people who don't know how this movie goes anymore. I will say this though, I am really happy to see more media where the lead female protagonist is not just the arm candy for the male hero. I think it is important for girls to have such a strong role model. I also really admire Jenifer Lawrence for being a good role model off screen as well.
Review:
I really don't have many complaints about this movie that aren't because I read the book - and I am not going to get into a big book vs. movie discussion. The only thing I will talk about in that respect is the first 3 finger salute when Katniss volunteers. In the book, it read as a much more profound moment than I felt came across in the movie. I mean really, that was the first major turning point in the story. I don't know if people really realize but that three finger salute, first of all, is a symbol of admiration and respect for the people of that district. On top of that, doing that was the first sign of open protest towards the capitol and it was a huge deal for the people of District 12 to be brave enough to do that. I really think that for such a major aspect of the story - although subtle, they really didn't give it the proper explanation or profound feeling that I think they should have. That all being said, I think that for a first installment of a series, they did a really good job. Hollywood can never really know how a series is going to go over with the fans. I am really happy that they invested a bit of money into making sure that the special effects were good too, I mean I am glad that Katniss didn't end up running like this. But then again, she would just run normally being that she doesn't have powers, but I just wanted to include that. (hehe) Movies like Beautiful Creatures shows us that not every book series would be good as a movie but I am fairly confident that Hollywood found a winner with this series. (Totally not because the sequels are already out)
I give the Hunger Games 8 out of 10 stars (still working on the points system and I know I used 5 stars last time but I forgot that stars aren't limited to groups of 5 and I will probably go back and change these) - I recommend it to anyone.
Hope you enjoy it :)
Picture credits:
http://ifunny.co/fun/1yHKodsA1
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hunger_games/
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