One of the most anticipated films of the year has been released a few weeks ago and received international praise, both from the fan community and the critics' circles. I am of course referring to the smash hit The Hunger Games, the first movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling Hunger Games trilogy. It had been decided, after I introduced the book to my friend Liane, that we would be enjoying this dark dystopia tale togheter. Going to the movies has been less frequent lately mainly because crowd-control is an issue. There is always a pesky pack of punks trying to ruin the experience for everyone. This time was just the same. But through the noise of teenagedom, I was able to thoroughly enjoy this!!
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Alexander Ludwig, Amandla Stenberg
What's it About: Set in a distant future where political control has become an annual pageant presented live on national television. The twist that awaits the viewers is that the pageant is really a violent match to the death between children of the empoverished districts that are already forced to work hard to provide goods to the greedy capital. When Primrose Everdeen is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games, her older sister Katniss volunteers to spare her sister the horrible fate of being plunged into the Arena.
Review: I wasn't expecting much - mainly because adaptations rarely live up to the book. But I was plesantly surprised with the turn out. Sure, it wasn't as gore or action-packed as the book but they kept the essential element: that these are children fighting to the death. The actors they cast were brilliant at bringing Panem to life. The subtlety behind every action reallys tells the story, which in the book is seen from a first-person point of view. We understand why Katniss employs a certain strategy to make it to the end without her explicitly telling us so. We understand the relationship between Prim and Katniss is a lot stronger and tighter then their relationship with their mom, without Katniss blatantly pointing it out for us. The work is subtle, the action is there, and the end message is raw, gritty, and hopefully thought-provoking for some.
Rating: 8/10
The movie is still in theatres, still going strong. If you haven't seen it on the big screen, this is the perfect time to go : kids have already seen it. Hopefully, you won't be bothered throughout the viewing! Enjoy!
Candles are out,
Eleven's Ink
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