With months of people ecstatic to see how Gary Ross could depict the world of Panem on screen, we were finally treated to see how it was possible. Fans of the book, The Hunger Games, bought their tickets just four weeks in advanced to prepare themselves for the ride of watching Katniss Everdeen compete in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. People like me on the other hand, stood idly by watching as nearly everyone from 10 year old kids to 80 year old grandparents were psyching themselves up for the film adaptation. Three weeks ago, I finally got off my lazy ass and decided to read the book to see what all the hype was about. To my very unexpected surprise, I very much enjoyed reading it (ugh, I know, reading is boring. But if you don’t read, how are you ever going to know what my opinions are, *sad face*). I have to say, spoiler alert, I actually very much enjoyed this film just as much as I enjoyed the book.
The film opens up to some title cards setting up the environment of Panem and the hunger games, themselves. Panem is broken up in thirteen districts, the thirteenth of which was wiped completely out due to a civil war between the people of the district and the Capital, the black heart of Panem running the show. The Hunger Games are a televised, gladiator-like event that pits 24 children, a boy and a girl from each of the remaining twelve districts, in a fight to the death; they were then set forth to show that the Capital still reigns supreme.
We follow Katniss Everdeen, a young 16 hunter who is protective of her sister and must try to make ends meet for her family. She is then forced to step up as a “contestant” for the hunger games when her younger sister is chosen to compete. This is where the film kicks off, both story wise and action wise. I won’t go much more into detail with the synopsis because you probably seen it already, it made over $155 million dollars so far.
Jennifer Lawrence is superb as her rendition of Katniss. Her character is a great heroine that is both fierce and vulnerable and we can get somewhat of a sense of that. When she needs to ferocious, she is, and when she’s at her most vulnerable, we can get of sense of that but I never really felt she was. Emotionally speaking that is.
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta was a bit confusing. Walking out of the theater I felt he did a great job but thinking about it a few days later, I felt was just okay. I felt he was stiff, second-guessing himself in every scene. I mean, I would second-guess myself if my co-star was Jennifer Lawrence. Not only is she beautiful but it would be kind of hard to match her acting chops. Watching Hutcherson, it was like watching a race between a Porsche and an G6. Both are really good modes of transportation but they aren’t in the same class.
I felt as though Gary Ross, the director did a great job of conveying the world of Panem and the districts without going too overboard or without under selling it. District 12, in the film, felt like this desolate piece of land where the inhabitants were starving and the people felt overworked. Then they show the Capital and how rich everything looks. The colors ooze off screen, the city is bright and vibrant, and the people look well fed and underworked. The contrast between the two was done so brilliantly and sometimes subtly; people in District 12, most notably Katniss’ mother, is watching the games through a projector while the television in the Capital is set up on a glass window.
Now it’s time for me to compare between the book and the film. The film lacked any of the real emotional bonds between characters. Potential Spoilers Ahead, Katniss’ and Rue’s relationship in the book is much more fleshed out and you could really feel their bond to one another. The film treats it as a short encounter that lasts roughly 10 minutes of screen time. I would have loved if the film explored that subplot a little but further, maybe another 10 or 15 minutes would have sufficed. Also, the relationship between Katniss and Peeta felt a bit rushed here. I got the sense that he loved her but her not him but I truly felt that their was a huge hole missing for me. In the film, it really feels like Katniss and Haymitch are truly more of an enemy to Peeta as the Capital. They play him for a fool and it results with him being alive but at the cost of potentially a broken heart.
Another gripe I had with the film was the use of handycam. Most of the scenes in the arena are very hard to follow as I had a hard time trying to figure out what was happening. The use of the shaky cam was intended on giving the more gruesome deaths in the book a jarring approach in the film without sacrificing an R rating, but it was nauseating.
A side to the film that was absent from the film was the gamemakers full interaction with the arena and the President’s full intentions. This was a welcome addition as it gave those who didn’t read the book a better understanding of motives of the Capital without having to relay on boring narrations from the main character. With this added material, you get a better understanding of how much of a threat the Capital really is and you have a face you can relate to the Capital to.
The film’s running time is about two and a half hours but it doesn’t really feel like it. The film is paced magnificently and the intensity of the world is captured well on film. Some minor gripes with the film that prevent it from becoming a masterpiece are character relationships, Josh Hutcherson’s acting, and handycam work. All in all, the film is great but some minor thing hold it back from going down in history as one of the greatest films ever, but it will or, rather, should go down as the one of the greatest film adaptation of a book.
4.5 stars*
*Graphic coming soon
