“
If an old-toughened male film fan such as me can enjoy The Hunger Games, than I suspect most people of any age or gender could be lured into admiring this film. ”
Science-Fiction, Action and Drama
Starring - Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson
as Peeta Mellark, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch
Abernathy, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Stanley
Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow, Wes
Bentley as Seneca Crane and Amandla Stenberg as Rue
Director - Gary Ross
Writer(s) - Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray
Rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and
disturbing images - all involving teens.
Runtime - 142 min.
Unless you have been living under the proverbial rock, you
are no doubt familiar with media hoopla surrounding the Hunger Games book
series and the film adaptation of the first novel The Hunger Games. For the few
that have not seen the film, because you haven’t read the books and could care
less about the film; or you aren’t interested in the film at all because it
appears on the surface to be another cinematic Twilight/genre-teen-romance
exploitive expletive. Speaking as a person who is definitely not the target
audience (male-50+) and as someone who did not read/watch any of the Twilight books/films,
I still decided to watch The Hunger Games in the hope that beyond the
teen-romance-drama there would be some interesting science fictional
speculation to be had. I was at least somewhat rewarded for my efforts.
Rather than bore you with the plot for The Hunger Games, I’ll
reprint Suzanne Collins’, the author of the books and co-writer of the
screenplay, plot synopsis:
In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is
divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young
representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in
The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past
rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24
participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of
Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is
selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her
place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger
representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.
What makes The Hunger Games good science fiction? The
premise of a future world where some type of world crisis has caused the social
structure to revert to district states; with a Capital district ruling over
them. Obviously Suzanne Collins has based her future world on the city states
of early Rome and other historic political systems. This is a common practice
of Fantasy writers, but science fiction writers have used history as a basis
for their political structures as well. The way that the Capital Distict enforces this
tribute of the 12 Districts makes for a fascinating premise to base a story on,
but the execution of the story – at least the one presented in the film – could
have been made clearer.
The film’s entire story is seen from the viewpoint of Katniss
Everdeen, so there is little chance for the story’s larger premise to be elaborated
on. While the character of Katniss is relatable to the film’s target audience,
it made it frustrating for me, as I was often wondering about the origin of
certain aspects of her life; specifically why her particular District seemed to
be so short of food as to be almost starving. This is important to the
character of Katniss, because of the food shortage, she discreetly hunts for deer
and other meat in a forbidden zone. Her skill with a bow and also her ability
to generate loyalty to herself plays a prominent role in her survival in The Hunger
Games.
The visuals of The Hunger Games help to tell the story of
this distinct economic separation between the poorer districts and the wealthy Capital. The wealth of The Capital is shown with the high-rise
buildings, the advanced technology and the extravagant clothing worn by all its
denizens. The later was so disparate and exaggerated, that I found it distracting.
This could be why one of the few characters that I could actually relate to was
Haymitch Abernathy. Despite his initial appearance to be an indifferent alcoholic,
he was at least dressed more-or-less in a masculine fashion, sans the make-up
and frills that most of the rest of the men in the film wore. Once again, I’m
assuming the look of The Capital was based on the ostentatious clothing worn by
such historical societies as the 16th Century French aristocracy.
Still, I would have preferred something a little less visually distracting.
The only other caveat I have with the look of The Hunger
Games was the camera work. Especially early on, there are many close-up and
medium close-up shots, where the camera moves around aimlessly in several
directions. I’m not sure what the director was attempting to do with these
shots, but fortunately there were fewer of them as the film progressed.
Your level of enjoyment of The Hunger Games rests largely on
your feelings for Katniss and the manner in which she ultimately survives the
deadly tournament. I personally found Katniss to be slightly cold as a
character. When the situations called for her to react emotionally, it didn’t really
resonate with me.
TECHNICAL: Acting – 9 Directing – 8 Cinematography – 9
Script – 8 Special Effects – 9
VISCERAL: Visual – 9 Auditory – 9 Intellectual – 8 Emotional
– 8 Involvement – 9
TOTAL - 86
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