Saturday, March 31, 2012

Film Review: The Hunger Games (2012)

The Hunger Games 

Directed by: Gary Ross

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence
Josh Hutcherson
Elizabeth Banks
Stanley Tucci

Synopsis: Check out my review of the book for a comprehensive synopsis!

Warning!! This review will discuss the book in detail, so if you haven't read it (or don't want to read it but want to watch the film) and don't want to read any spoilers then back away from the review. You've been warned!!


Now that I've had almost a week to decompress and step back from the "HSDFHS@!! HUNGER GAMES!!!" cloud of excitement, I thought I'd take a chance to review it. As my warning suggests, I'll be discussing the film in relation to the book and all the spoiler-y goodness that happens. So I guess this is less a review, and more a discussion post...but whatever.

First off, I really liked it. I had that moment just as the last ad played when I gripped the seat and thought "crap, what if it sucks?! Maybe I should get out now..." but for the most part I was really happy with the way they adapted the book to the screen. In fact, perhaps it was the film's faithfulness that lead to the few problems I had with it. But I'll get onto that in a minute, first, the goodness!

How amazing was Jennifer Lawrence?! She was so perfect as Katniss. She was moody and cranky and closed off to people she didn't know, but completely open and on the verge of falling apart when she was dealing with someone she loved/respected. The scene with Rue (again, SPOILERS) had me paralysed with emotion, I freaking bawled like a baby. I really liked Elizabeth Banks (how hard was it to pick it as her?!) as Effie, Stanley Tucci was a great Caesar, and Wes Bentley was superb as a more fleshed out Seneca. I thought Lenny Kravitz was a weird pick for Cinna considering how crazy his clothes usually are, but amazingly he managed to pull of the calm, downplayed vibe of Cinna. Overall I guess I could say that I was really impressed with the cast. I was at a slight advantage because I read the books after all of the massive publicity for these films, so I always imagined the characters looking a lot like the actors cast in it, but I still think they worked well to create a cohesive cast that I believed. The only exception would be the guys playing Gale and Peeta. The opening scene between Katniss and Gale was perhaps the most forced conversation in the entire film, and while I think Josh Hutcherson was a decent enough actor (he needs to stop expressing his emotions through an open mouth though) I'm not convinced of him as Peeta...yet. I'll wait until the sequel before I make a final decision about that.

The art direction and costuming was amazing. They truly brought to life the world created by Suzanne Collins, and it was a pleasure to see all the elements I'd read presented so beautifully and accurately. However, while I thought the Capitol costumes were gorgeous, and true to the book, I found them a little too much. This was what I was hinting at above, according to the details in the book the choices in the film were understandable, but in a book you're able to prescribe exactly how crazy it'll be. To me they had all the sugary superficiality of the costumes in the film, but with a much darker undertone. So in my mind, while there was a clear separation between the Capitol and the outer districts, there was a connecting slither of something that made it work. In the film I just felt like the two worlds were too disjointed, and too disconnected. Which lead to the Capitol costumes appearing almost cartoonish, and not in a great way.

While I'm complaining, I'll bring up my other complaint. Though the film was incredibly close to the book, some of the areas they trimmed, especially the pre-games story, meant that the film was lacking the substance that the books had in spades. For instance, the Mockingjay pin has none of the rebellion connotations, so that scene with President Snow at the end just seems weird. And why did Cinna hide in on her jacket? It's just a pin from her sister. Similarly, the emotional tug-a-war with Peeta lost its complexity without Haymitch sending her little hints that she should be pushing the relationship angle. Also, what with her not nearly dying of dehydration? They kept in the line about how 20% of them would die from exposure and hunger/thirst yet never explored that path, leaving the thread open and messy. There were a few other little things like this that, while not a huge deal, may come back to bite them in the ass in the next two (or three if they split the last book) movies because they won't have the foundation they needed. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I've heard from a few people who haven't read the book that they really missed the crux of the story because of these missing elements, and things like the district 11 rebellion scene just seemed out of place because of it.

But my complaints really are minor. It's just like I always came out of the Harry Potter films complaining but inevitably came to love and adore the films in their own right. In all honesty, the film really managed to hit high in every area, acting, costumes, sets, CGI (except those damn dogs), scripting, and I enjoyed the few additions they made, such as the crossbacks to Caesar during the games and the inside look in the game-maker's room (although I could have done without the Seneca and Snow scenes).

It was great to see a YA book handled with some respect, and not melodrama-ed and cartooned up (with my exceptions above). It seems that Suzanne Collins had a real hand in the production of her story, and with her television background I'm fairly positive that the areas I've complained about have been handled by her and she knows what she's doing. At least that's my hope. I'm interested in seeing how they actualise the next two books, and with the success of this first cast I can't wait to see who they choose to play all the additional characters coming in Catching Fire! 

6 comments:

  1. I am one of those rare people ( I think) that did not read the book before seeing the movie. I have to say that I was haunted for days after the movie with some of the scenes. I thought it was well-done - and I do agree with you on a few points about the Capitol seeming completely separate from the rest of the 'world' - as well as the Rebellion in District 11. Now, I do want to read the books before the other movies come out so I can learn more of the back-story. Thanks for a great review! I loved the comment 'oh crap, what if it sucks?' It did seem that the author was well-involved with the making of this movie.

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  2. I love how basically every review I've read of the movie (and I include my own in this) has been 'I loved this movie BUT here are all the things wrong with it!' I guess that since we've read the books we can't not compare the two, being book bloggers and all! But yes. I agree with all the things, pretty much. Especially the Mockingjay pin thing, which *really* pissed me off. But also, yeah I liked it!

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  3. I agree with you. I think The Hunger Games stands on its own as a good movie, and is a much better than average book-to-film adaptation. That being said, I think it was mistake to downplay all of the politics and struggle of the outer districts, because won't it seem like it comes out of nowhere in the next films? It's the political machinations of the book series that give it its heft, in my opinion.

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  4. @Crowe, yeah that's my largest concern too. I'm hoping that considering it's a trilogy they mapped out the entire series at the very least, if they haven't already written the scripts. Which should mean that it'll work out ok...at least that's what I'm hoping for!

    @Laura, I know! I used to be the biggest pain coming out of HP because I'd be like "that was great, but why'd they miss out blah and blah" for days and weeks afterwards!

    @Kate, I hope you like it! The books really flesh out a lot of the backstory stuff, which will be really important for the next movies. They're a great read, and super quick!

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  5. Take away the hullabaloo surrounding the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling young adult book and what you have is an absorbing film with a dire premise that stands pretty much on its own. Lawrence is also the stand-out here as Katniss and makes her seem like a real person rather than just another book character brought to life on film. Good review Kayleigh.

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  6. Thanks Dan, I definitely think it holds up as a film when you take it away from the book, and I'd probably even enjoy it more if that was the case. We literary folk are so nitpicky about these things!

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