The Hunger Games

There's almost nothing to say about a movie like The Hunger Games -- it's been so worked to death to be a successful blockbuster that all of its edges, the things that make a film good or bad, have disappeared. It just exists as a spectacle, a finished product that defies any critical lens.

I could go on about the particulars of the adaptation -- the ridiculousness of the entire Capital setting, or the sometimes disorienting shakycam work, or the great cast of adults patiently playing supporting characters -- or the source material -- the gestures at social commentary, the way that the story protects Katniss from ever having to morally sully herself -- but they all seem to be beside the point. Look. The movie has the things that happened in the book, but in a movie, competently shot and acted, with absolutely no risks taken. If you liked the book, or want to learn what this whole Hunger Games thing is about without having to read the book, you'll probably like this. It's a digestible film, even an enjoyable one, but in the end it's not really interesting or memorable. But to be fair, it wasn't meant to be.

Seeing the "Hunger Games" series gain so much recognition is difficult to fathom; especially when it's more or less a blatant copy of "Battle Royale", a Japanese novel (1996), movie (2000), and manga (2000-2005). I've read the entire series of "Hunger Games" (2008), and not only is the writing style bland, but the plot is exceedingly unoriginal and not 'unique' like many of you are claiming it to be. Like the "Battle Royale" manga, "Hunger Games" includes love triangles, a group of teenagers randomly chosen (BR: by class HG: by district), plans to overthrow authority, teens given weapons and forced into a death match, a pair working together to undermine the game with the help of an older mentor who had previously won the game, both female and male main leads, a corrupted government, signal fires and bird calls, a reality TV show program (which IS in the English adaption of the manga (2006) for the series unlike many of you have known), and the list goes on and on. Evidence of these unconcealed similarities can be found on various Internet articles (whose writers I sincerely thank). I urge you to go right now and read the manga or novel of Battle Royale online so that you can compare the two series. The author of "Hunger Games" blatantly claimed (*cough* lied *cough) that she supposedly never even knew of "Battle Royale", so you can't use 'inspiration' as an excuse anymore. Instead, she blurted out nonsense about Roman mythology and the Iraq war since she doesn't want to admit her source of inspiration is a contemporary. How convenient for her own success since "Battle Royale" is a Japanese series that isn't well known in North America. She basically made an American-version of the series that contains less gruesome content and involves districts in place of school classes. Even if she truly did not know about "Battle Royale" or mysteriously forgot about it in the back of her mind, it is still part of an author's job to confirm the originality of his or her own to-be published works through researching. I'm posting this all of over the web so that "Battle Royale" can at least receive some acknowledgment that the "Hunger Games" author denied. Sure enough, both series also share resemblances with "The Lord of the Flies" and "The Running Man". However, unlike the HR author, the BR author has not denied this inspiration. Moreover, the "Hunger Games" is more like a rip-off of "Battle Royale" than an inspiration since the majority of the plot elements are nearly identical. There's a fine line between the words 'inspiration' and 'copy', and "Hunger Games" has extended far past it. There are also many popular American series that were inspired by Japanese series such as "The Matrix" from "Ghost in the Shell", however they rightfully gave credit for the 'original' series… unlike a certain someone. I sincerely apologize if I seem rash with my word choice, but it's so aggravating that Suzanne Collins had dare stated that she wasn't inspired by "Battle Royale" when she clearly was. What's more contemptible is that she's getting not only famous from her rip-off, but she's also obtaining vast amounts of money from it. But hey, that's how reality works, right? Therefore, I don't care if this is marked as spam or hauled with negative comments from "Hunger Game" fanatics. As long as it reveals to some people the credit "Battle Royale" genuinely deserves, then I'm satisfied. Nonetheless, the movie's portrayal of "Hunger Games" is quite exceptional in comparison to other movies adapted from books, which is why I am rating this 2/10 instead of 1/10.

An unfortunate catalyst that propelled the trend of teenage protagonist led book adaptations, of dystopian futures. Divergent and Maze Runner followed, both failing to complete their respective stories. Perhaps that has tainted the memory of a satisfactory film, undefinable by genre.

It's easy to forget that way back in 2012 this was fresh and new, tonally dark cinema, aiming for the teenage demographic. Perhaps that's a large reason for the success of the franchise, it was new and interesting, everything since has just been a rehash, located in a different world.

Refreshingly dark and mature, visually graphic, The Hunger Games has a lot going for it, as a visual spectacle, not so much as an immersive and compelling story. Narratively it meanders, without intent, there's a station to arrive at but not the train track to get there. Tonally gloomy at times, balance is hard to find. Switches in mood make the texture of the atmosphere uneven, because changes are jarring and misplaced. The edit failed to maximise the potential seeping throughout. Scenes are drawn out and end on odd notes, something that could've been tightened up in post-production. Additionally more cuts to and through between the Games and the world at present would've helped to increase tension while the story pondered, the scale and public reaction isn't documented anywhere near enough, if at all. Personally I feel the editing really trips this film up, it's quite easily 10-15 minutes too long, feeling even longer due to the fact of how much sitting around there is.

Stretched so far it's see through, the ending is blatant from the get go, meaning there's not much to keep you interested after the half hour mark.

Gary Ross shows wonderful craft and delicacy when concerning the dark themes of oppressed society, life without choice and just how bleak living in a dictatorship is. In the first act he manages to craft a tone and atmosphere that reeks of desperation, fear, the empty void of hopelessness and life without control. Yet he lifts the mood with the slightest and smallest of scenes between Kat and Gale, serving as a reminder of humanity's ability to dream and aspire for a better world. Each shot set in District 12 is delightful, sombre chills run through every vein as you are enraptured in fear and anxiety. The build up to and throughout the reaping is tense and nauseating, interactions with Kat and her sister are filmed so preciously. Sound is well utilised through the overdrawn run-time, music is allowed to overrun and dominate, drowning out the world perfectly and symbolically. An example that comes to mind concerning the sound is when Kat offers herself up, her screaming juxtaposed against the silence sets her out from the rest, nailing her on as the protagonist we will all route for. Selfless.

This was Jennifer Lawrence's big break in the public eye, she left a good impression. Portrayed with care, Katniss is delicately played when is necessary but can easily surge with passion when needed. Reminiscent of an indie film portrayal, Jennifer showcases her range and hits all the marks, and you, in all the right places.

Hunger Games starts off brilliantly, it's exhilarating and tense, filled with subtlety. Has a terrific lead performance that powers you through. It's weighed down by an underwhelming narrative, that's evened out with an enjoyable character arc. Sadly it gets wrapped up in it itself, losing its awareness of how sick a situation this is, and rather than point it out, chooses to accept the societal issues, it so cleverly addressed in the beginning. We then drift and chunder toward the inevitable ending.

Nevertheless I'd quite happily re-watch the first act, but would have no qualms with skipping the rest.

It's a solid piece of film-making.

There was a great deal of hype and fuss when The Hunger Games came out as a film and perhaps I should have known I was not target audience because up till then I had never heard of the book series (or indeed that a film was being made). Although with the usual hoopla that goes with any large film, quite a few critics I respect gave it surprisingly good reviews and I decided I would check it out at some point as it seemed to offer more than just a copy of Battle Royale for American teenagers. With all the fuss (and teenage audience) I was very happy to let it go by in the cinemas and instead I waited for the DVD.

The film offers a lot of potential and this potential is evident from the start because it sets out its stall to be many things. Firstly there is plenty of room for satire by virtue of this exaggerated futuristic world where this annual murder is presented as both entertainment and also as a way of punishing the masses and keeping them in their place while those with the power enjoy the best of life. Secondly there is the opportunity to draw the audience into being a viewer of this very thing and then confronting us with the horror of what it really means so that there is at least a part of us questioning what we're finding entertaining. I wasn't looking for this to be some incredibly dark film that spits out an audience full of self-loathing and introspection, but I did expect it to be intelligent and impacting on some level to make it stand out from being just a teen-friendly adventure story.

The film itself surprised me by falling far short of what it could have been and squandering or ignoring most of the things of the potential it had. In terms of the satire, it never convinced me of the world it had created – it seemed unnecessarily excessive and didn't have enough truth to it to make me believe. I got the impression that it wasn't particularly interested in making the world function as a real place either – just that it was on screen was enough. As a place for commentary or digs at real things, it wasn't that it picked easy targets or easy shots, it was more a matter of it not really having much interest in saying anything beyond a few very basic things. This is a problem not only because it wasted potential but also because the first hour or so of this film is entirely in this world.

The second hour is within the games itself and as such it does have dramatic moments as one would expect (it is after all, an expensive Hollywood thriller), however these are fewer than I would have liked and also a lot less impacting – I watched most of it with a removal that I shouldn't have had. The delivery of children violently murdering other is only horrifying in regards how sanitised and unhorrific it is. I wasn't looking for it to be really gory or to revel in the blood, but it certainly should not have been something that I watch without any reaction. This lack of horror (even just emotional horror) leaves the game as a rather hollow affair which eventually turns into a standard thriller where we root for the "good" kids over the "bad" kids, even though it would have been stronger to have not drawn that very easy line.

The performances are mostly solid even though the majority have little to work with. Lawrence is a good actress and she adds a weight to her character tat doesn't seem to come from anywhere but her. I liked her throughout – even terrible "fire" special effects seemed unable to make her look bad. The supporting cast aren't able to bring as much as her to the table – even though there are plenty of big names here. The majority of the other children are carefully cast and given exits from the story that befits the easy-road approach to the plot.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this film but I was surprised to find that the words sanitised, safe and standard were the ones that kept going through my mind considering I was watching a globally successful satire that uses the murder of children by other children as its core plot. As it is The Hunger Games comes off as a lot of ideas that have been done better elsewhere and any teeth it may have had are all smoothed down and buffed into a consumer friendly product that will undoubtedly become a smash franchise – my only hope is that the next film can deliver some of its promise and not just churn out something as safe, generic and frankly unmemorable as this one.

Thrilling,Engaging and entertaining dystopian action sci-fiction flick. Really liked the visuals and all the action scenes. This is the real deal of Drama and action. Screenplay,costumes and make up all are decent. Especially the make up and movie sets are very beautiful and elegant which make the people from novel come to life. Now,considering the novel,this movie adaption misses a few things i wanted to see on screen. One is I expected it to be more violent on screen with a R Rating but they made PG-13 Stuff, i don't know why,to make more money i guess. That shaky cinematography too. some of the important messages had been cut down. These things really disappoint me because i loved the novel and wanted it to be more precise. other than that it is good popcorn entertainer. Loved Jennifer Lawrence though. Acting is far far better than that Kristen-NO-Expression-Stewart. Not only Jennifer but all the actors did their job very good. Now looking forward to sequels.Hope they will be better.