The Hunger Games - Thoughts

A couple of months ago I downloaded and watched the teaser trailer for The Hunger Games. For someone who knew nothing about the movie, and had no backstory, it didn’t really catch my attention. The next I heard of it was about a month ago when a friend who had read the book said we should see the movie once it opens in the theatres. Based on what he said, it sounded like a sufficiently interesting premise, surrounding a fight to the death sort of televised sport, set in a post-apocalyptic future.

While neither the post-apocalyptic setting, nor the televised ‘battle to the end’ idea are new, The Hunger Games packages and presents it nicely, thus making it distinctive. The movie is broken out into the buildup to the actual event, which provides some sense of setting, and then goes into the actual challenge. So it’s not all action and adventure, and does have a decent deal of drama and character development. With a runtime of over 2 and a half hours, pace has been managed well, keeping the momentum continuous, and delicately holding on to audience attention. The contrast between the districts and the obnoxious lengths of depravity that human beings can go to is captured well, serving somewhat as a cynical reality check. While the carnage isn’t as intense as some of the other last man standing themed movies, The Hunger Games isn't appropriate for the faint of heart. Though I’m told the movie doesn't do justice to the book, viewed independently it’s certainly worth the watch. If you’re into fiction, and enjoy action adventure themes, you’ll probably find The Hunger Games refreshingly fun.

Katniss Everdeen is probably the only name you need to really make note of in The Hunger Games. Just about every other role, including those played by relatively well known and acclaimed actors such as Donald Sutherland, and Stanley Tucci are only supporting characters in the narrative. The role of Katniss is played by Jennifer Lawrence, probably known from her role as Raven / Mystique in X-Men:  First Class. Considering the pivotal requirement of her character in The Hunger Games, she does astoundingly well, as the rough around the edges, street smart girl from a small town, new to the glitz of upscale society. Her efforts as an athlete are again portrayed believably, not coming across like a stretch in anyway.   Also worth mention are Josh Hutcherson who plays Peeta Mellark and Lenny Kravitz who plays Cinna.

I watched this one in the theatre, and the digital video experience was pretty impressive. Picture was clear throughout, and definition was good even in the darker scenes. The futuristic and extravagant presentation of the Capitol was outstanding, in a wondrous fabricated utopia way. Sound was probably a 7.1 Dolby mix, but it’s hard to tell for sure.  That said, dialog was perfect, and the sound effects accompanying the movie were all on point. Being seated towards one of the sides, my opportunity for surround sampling was limited. In my honest opinion the best sound experience is in that ideal seat in a home theatre, and not in a large commercial theatre. It’s probably got to do with the acoustics of a medium sized room as compared to a large room built for several hundred folks.

My Recommendation: Watch It + (A refreshing spin on a post-apocalyptic future)