It came from the same place that every other movie with a massive tween audience comes from: a series of books marketed towards teens and young adults. I guess Hollywood figured that with the end of the Harry Potter franchise and only one more movie before the Twilight franchise concludes, they needed to hurry up and turn another series of books into movies. Though I'm dreadfully unfamiliar with the books, the movie's mind-blowing success combined with the rave reviews its gotten has made me curious to see just what the hubbub is all about.
A series of catastrophic events devastated North America decades ago, and from its ruins emerged a 13-district nation called Panem. Over time, the districts rebelled against Panem's totalitarian Capitol, a revolution that was quelled when District 13 was destroyed. The Capitol punished the twelve remaining districts by establishing an annual event known as "the Hunger Games." In the Hunger Games, a boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are chosen via random lottery. These twenty-four "Tributes" are instructed to fight to the death until only one of them remains, with lavish prizes going to the winner.
The movie opens as the 74th iteration of the Hunger Games are about to begin. When Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) is selected as the female Tribute from District 12 despite the astronomical odds against it, her protective older sister Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to participate in the Games in her stead. Katniss and her male counterpart, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), are escorted by their flamboyant chaperone Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) to the Capitol, where they, along with their fellow Tributes, are to prepare for the Games.
Katniss and Peeta spend the next two weeks training, coached and mentored by past Games winner and current jaded alcoholic Heymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson). They're also dressed to the nines by their stylist (Lenny Kravitz) and paraded onto a talk show with the other Tributes. When Peeta reveals on the talk show that he has an unrequited crush on Katniss, the powers that be spin the duo as star-crossed lovers to drive up ratings for the televised broadcast of the Games. Though she initially exploits this spin for her own gain, Katniss and Peeta end up actually legitimately bonding. This only makes things worse because they both know that in order to survive the Hunger Games, one of them has to die.
I didn't really know what to expect from The Hunger Games. Having never read any of the Hunger Games novels (nor even knowing they existed prior to the start of the movie's promotional campaign), all I knew was that the movie was supposed to be really good and that it supposedly owed something of a debt to Battle Royale. But having seen it, I can tell you that The Hunger Games is indeed a damn good flick. I'd actually go as far as to call it the best movie of 2012 so far. It's an engaging, gripping movie that keeps your attention for the entirety of its 150-minute running time.
Sitting in the director's chair is Gary Ross, who previously helmed the critically-acclaimed Tobey Maguire flicks Pleasantville and Seabiscuit. Ross's direction here is fantastic, as he effortlessly crafts a universe that sucks you in almost immediately. He really makes you feel there's more going on in the movie's world than what we see onscreen. It feels like Ross and his crew actually built the entire world of Panem from the ground up and captured it on film. That is how well I thought Ross established the movie's atmosphere.
Though Ross is a very capable filmmaker whose work here should be commended, there are a few things I want to nitpick. One is his use of shaky camerawork during some of the action scenes. For the most part, the cinematography is gorgeous. But those few instances where the camera starts bouncing around in what I presume is an attempt to build tension or establish a frantic feeling really just made me wish the camera was more stable. That's something that turns up in a lot of movies nowadays and it annoys me to no end. I mean, it's not going to hurt your movie to have a little stability during your action sequences.
The other thing that bugged me was how a lot of the violence felt watered down so the movie could get a PG-13 rating. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the movie needed to look like an Eli Roth movie or anything. But the fact that you can tell Ross (or the producers, or whomever) did some editing around the violence actually takes away some of its impact. The movie still has its fair share of bloody violence, but it still seems tame to a degree. Some movies use violence to achieve different goals, but The Hunger Games could have used a little bit extra to hammer home just how messed up it is that the Capitol has rounded up a bunch of children and forced them into gladiatorial combat for their own amusement. The movie still works fine and is no better or worse because of this, but that's just my take on the whole thing.
But let's continue along and talk a little about the screenplay, written by Ross, Billy Ray, and Hunger Games creator Susanne Collins. I'm sure I would have appreciated the little things more had I actually read Collins's book prior to the movie, but the script still manages to tell a fascinating story regardless of if you have any prior knowledge of the books. It assists Ross's direction in building a universe broader than what we see, yet still remains focused on telling the story of Katniss and the Hunger Games.
Not only do Ross, Ray, and Collins craft a story of rebellion, of the Capitol's decadent "haves" versus the "have nots" of the twelve Districts, they also give us a group of characters who are all very intriguing in their own ways. All of them have their own motivations, their own reasons for being. Even the characters with precious little development or screen time, like the Tributes from the other eleven Districts, all feel like there's more going on with them beneath the surface than we are shown. It's some great writing that actually makes me want to go check out the book too.
And last but not least is the cast, whom I felt all put forth their absolute best. Among the supporting cast, I thought Josh Hutcherson contributed a sympathetic performance in his role as Peeta. He brings exactly what the character needs to the table, which elevates the material even further. I also thought Elizabeth Banks and Stanley Tucci were a hell of a lot of fun in their parts, while Donald Sutherland contributed an understated yet coolly calculating nuance to his role as Panem's president. The best of the supporting cast, though, is Woody Harrelson and his tremendously amusing performance as Katniss and Peeta's drunken coach. Harrelson is so entertaining that he actually makes you wish there were more moments with him.
But a review of The Hunger Games would be for naught without a mention of its star, Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence's performance is nothing short of stellar. She's very engaging, very charismatic and likable, effectively portraying Katniss as a brave, intelligent young woman who will do anything necessary to survive while flaunting her utter contempt for everything the Hunger Games represents. A ton of talented young actresses were up for the role of Katniss, but having seen what Lawrence does with it, I honestly could not imagine anyone else playing the character. Lawrence is simply amazing here, no doubt about it.
I've seen that people have been drawing parallels between The Hunger Games and Battle Royale for years, ever since the first book was published in 2008. The similarities are certainly there, and it is possible to notice elements of movies like The Running Man and The Condemned as well. But The Hunger Games has its own uniqueness that separates it from those other movies. It stands on its own as a great flick that I personally felt is worth seeing. So I'll give the movie a well-deserved four stars. Now bring on the Hunger Games sequels, because I'm totally in.
Final Rating: ****
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