MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Gary Ross
Film Pulse Score: 7/10
When I first discovered The Hunger Games, I thought to myself, oh great another young adult novel turned into a movie, that’s exactly what we need. Then, upon further digging into the plot, I found out that it was about children forced to kill one another. Okay, now it sounds like a teen version of Battle Royale, I’m still not sold. I was still wondering what all the hype was about, so I read all three novels in preparation for the first film. While I admit I enjoyed the novels, I was still left guessing as to how they could translate into a PG-13 movie and still capture the grim subject matter. Fortunately, they succeed, and although I find all the buzz surrounding movies like this detrimental to people like myself, I think even the most pretentious critics will find this film enjoyable, and well-made.
If you are unfamiliar with the story of The Hunger Games, in a dystopian future the country is divided into 12 different districts, each with one main industry they specialize in. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) resides in district 12, the coal-mining district. All the districts are ruled over by a ruthless government known as The Capitol. Every year, in order to keep the districts in check, The Capitol holds The Hunger Games, which pulls a random boy and girl from each district, and pits them against one another till there’s only one left.
While there are certainly parallels to be drawn between this and Battle Royale, it is unfair to say it’s a ripoff. Just because a film or book has similar plot elements, it doesn’t automatically make it a copycat. If that statement held true, people should be complaining that every Katherine Heigl movie is a copy of itself.
Written and directed by Gary Ross, who also made Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, the first thing one notices about the film, is the abundant use of the shaky cam. Although this may be a stylistic choice, I believe that it also enabled the filmmakers to show some of the more violent scenes and still get away with the PG-13 rating. The inconsistent camerawork made the film feel like a low budget indie in one scene, and a Hollywood blockbuster in another.
Don’t be fooled though, this is a Hollywood blockbuster through and through. Everyone in the film looks way more beautiful then they should, even when they are left in the woods to kill each other. The tributes from the poor districts, and the scenes that show district 11 and 12 should convey the hardship that these people must endure, however no one looks emaciated or frail or starving, as it’s described in the novels.
That being said, the translation from book to movie is almost perfect. To my knowledge, only one minor plot point was altered, and it actually worked out better than in the novel. Obviously, certain things needed to be omitted, in order to keep within the 142 minute runtime, but nearly everything was crammed in. The lead up to the games felt a little hurried, but everything else didn’t feel rushed or glossed over like in John Carter.
With superb performances from Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, and Woody Harrelson, the cast is what really pushed this film into something more than just another teen flick. All the young actors portraying the 24 tributes did an excellent job, and Lenny Kravitz even gave a passable performance. One thing to remember if character development was an issue, there are two more films on the horizon, so there will be more time to explore each of these supporting characters.
The Hunger Games is a rare film that has the ability to appeal to a wide audience, however the stigma of the young adult novel, and the copious amounts of buzz may give people pause before admitting they actually liked it. Although the film is not perfect, the flaws are not that of the cast and crew, but inherit in the source material. My suggestion is to go see it, keep an open mind, and draw your own conclusions.
