Another book adaptation, another conversion, another book to movie, movie. No bad thing, some of the greatest movies have been based on books. Jaws and Jurassic Park come to mind instantly, and thats even before you think about the gargantuan success of Twilight of Harry Potter. So, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Will it continue the trend?
Firstly, some full disclosure. Up until the hype and publicity machine started, this reviewer had never heard of The Hunger Games. For all I knew it could have been about Pac-Man. From a story point of view, the movie is set in the not so distant future. Almost post apocalyptic. North America has been replaced by Panem a country divided into the “Capitol” and 12 districts. Each year 2 teenagers are selected from each district and basically kill each other in a big event, entitled…go on…have a guess….The Hunger Games. Our main characters hail from district 12, namely Peeta and Katniss (who replaced her 16 year old after she was selected in the lottery).
At times, The Hunger Games can remind you of The Truman Show. An omnipotent team, or glorified reality TV show staff create events and attempt to direct characters toward each other etc. by a selection of announcements and amongst other more deviant methods. The movie sets quite a unique tone, which is predominately dark and features quite a sinister population of seemingly uber rich eccentrics, all who seem quite pleasant and calm but at the same time quench their thirst for teen bloodshed with their annual “bash”. With quite futuristic concepts and locations, something like this could well run the chance of being unrealistic, but for the best part it is entirely believable. From the locations and the cast, this is very convincing. And while the movie is essentially split into two parts, the build up to the games, and the games themselves, after 30 minutes you’re completely sucked in to the believability of the movie. I’m sure for fans of the novels they will spot every nook and cranny here, as the attention to detail and sense of care and loyalty to the original material is quite something. And this is coming from someone who hasn’t read a page of the thing. There seems to be particular focus, albeit it very subtle, from scene to scene on certain things and key dialogue which highlights the level of care to the project.
When the games themselves kick off, the intensity and brutality are there, but unfortunately it’s not as brutal as the idea itself. Teens bludgeoning each other with a selection of weapons is tightly edited with plenty of hand held camera work, in turn keeping the visual violence down to a bare minimum. That said though, some audiences may get their knickers in a twist over two scenes involving a bunch of bees and a spear.
While many of the characters are a bit underdeveloped, the cast are like the movie itself convincing and Jennifer Lawrence in particular, has a very sincere approach to her work. Her eyes and almost emotionless face tell quite some story. The movie itself clocks in at well over the 2 hour mark, but it does such a good job of ensnaring the audience, time flies by as the pacing is quite punchy and it’s quite a rollercoaster, with a number of really great moments.
I’d hazard a guess for fans of the book, this will be an awesome experience as their favourite characters are brought to life on the big screen, and for people who think it’s about Pac-Man or plumpy nut, The Hunger Games offers a decent slice of thrilling entertainment. The odds are certainly in its favour!
