Hunger Games Review

The Hunger Games was a fantastically made movie, everything from its adherence to the book to the choice of cast was impeccable.

The film follows the story of Katniss Everdeen who grew up in the poorest district in the utilitarian post-American country of Panem ruled over by the oppressive city known as the Capitol. One such tool of oppression the Capitol inflicts upon the districts is the hunger games, in which each district offers up a boy and a girl to compete in a televised fight to the death. Katniss volunteers for the games in place of her sister and the story reflects her experience in the games.

It was a great performance by both heroes, Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark). Each character was believable, I really felt like this could be real. Their portrayal was honest, understated and classy. If this is the caliber of films they make, I cant wait to see what they star in next. There were also some great moments from Donald Sutherland,(President Snow) Woody Harrelson, (Haymitch) and Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman).

One thing I especially like about the film is that it shows different points of view. The book follows the first hand account of Katniss, while the film gives you a look into what is happening outside the arena. The audience is shown things that nobody else sees including; the people controlling the games, the beginnings of dissent among the districts, and even secret meetings with high ranking officials.

Another good selling point was that it was not overly gory. In a plot that involves children brutally fighting to the death you would think there would be a lot of blood. The scenes showed just enough gore to make it frightening and impactful without crossing the line in to horror.

The movie also gives foreshadowing and hints from book two, which provides a neat segue into the inevitable film sequel. It doesn't, however, leave you on a cliffhanger, as I felt the book did. In the film you get a sense that Katniss' trials are not over yet but there's hope of peace for now.

As with any book-to-film translation there will be something in the book that will have to be left out of the movie to save time. There were a few minor details I would have liked to see, like more Katniss-Peeta development, but nothing of major importance to the plot. They told the story very simply and very well.

Just a few things that bugged me, President Snow's mane of white hair was completely unlike how he was described, and it made him seem old and rather a pushover as opposed to dangerous. The set design on the cornucopia was very bizarre, it was a strange metallic spiky thing that seemed disjointed with the natural surroundings. It did however reflect the brutal sharp steel of the weapons it housed so at least it was somewhat cohesive. Lastly, the genetically engineered wolves that attack the players look more like pit bulls than wolves and did not resemble any of the fellow tributes like it should have. Other than that, basically everything was right on point.

The music was beautiful, it was fast and dangerous one moment and melodious and heart wrenching the next. It seemed to mix in perfectly with what was going on on-screen.

The special effects were pretty cool especially when they showed Panem's advanced technology and genetically engineered dogs. Their tricks with fire were my favorite, getting fire to look real is very hard and I think they did well under the circumstances.

The costuming was almost exactly how I imagined it. The people in the poor districts were dirty wearing plain clothing while those in the Capitol were extremely gaudy and over-the-top. It really brought home to me the kind of lives these characters were living, (I would have loved to have been an extra for the day).

All in all it was a very solid and satisfying film. I was drawn into this world and made a great connection with the characters and events. The visual elements were striking and memorable, the music perfectly matched to the plot, the acting was fabulous and the costumes were gorgeous, making for a fantastic package.