Monday, March 26, 2012

Movie Review Monday #43: The Hunger Games

Some of you may remember that I jumped on the Hunger Games bandwagon last August. I loved the books. I got to see the film on Friday night, thanks to my sister who watched Eiley. Thoughts, which I will attempt to keep spoiler-free:


1. This was one of the best adaptations I have ever seen. Yes, there were some changes made, but I don't think I'd want to sit through a perfect adaptation since it would probably take about ten hours to include every minute detail. There was only one moment that was not included that disappointed me - I was looking forward to a beautiful symphony of mockingjays after the death of one of the characters. There was no such moment, but that's such a minor complaint. I remember wondering how the filmmakers planned to pass on the information that Katniss, the main character, gives the reader through her inner monologue in the book - they did so mostly with game commentators, one of whom was Cesar Flickerman who was played by Stanley Tucci who I adore. I approved. They also stayed away from turning the film into a love story, which was a concern of mine. There's an aspect of romance to the books, but it's definitely not the focus. Same with the film.
2. Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Katniss, is amazing. She had the perfect balance of strength and realistic fear, I'm impressed with how well she shot the bow and arrow, and she looks very similar to my mental image of Katniss. Good job, Casting Director!


3. A large portion of the film was shot with a shaky cam. I understand that it gave District 12 a gritty, realistic feel, but wow. I could have done with significantly less of that. I felt a bit seasick at times.
4. So I'm already going to take back my compliment to the Casting Director. I can't get over how short and cartoonish Peeta is in the film (my apologies, Josh Hutcherson). In my head, he's tall and strong, with puppy dog eyes and a kind smile. My top three better choices for Peeta: Adam Hicks (though they'd need to make him blonde), Austin Butler (though they'd need to make him less pretty), or Chord Overstreet (who would also need to be deprettified). Full disclosure: I just put way too much imdb effort into that short list, folks. 
5. Here's my big point: I enjoyed the books and the film, but not because they had children killing children. I wish that thought never crossed anyone's mind. I joked about that on facebook (Let's kick off spring by sitting in a dark theater watching teenagers murder each other!), but obviously that's not why I jumped on this bandwagon. Instead, I enjoy this story because it's about a girl who sacrifices her life for her sister, who survives even though the odds are ever not in her favor, who has two boys in love with her but remains humbly oblivious to both, who feeds and cares for her smaller opponent, who stands up for what she believes is right in the only ways she knows how. She's no Jesus, but she's a pretty darn solid literary hero in my opinion. Also, I realize that there are all sorts of socio-political parallels to our world that can be drawn from this series, but I choose to simply place it in the fantasy genre and enjoy it. Call me vapid, I don't care.


In conclusion, three claws up. Solemnly. You know, like they do.

4 comments:

  1. Saw it last night.

    And ditto to everything you said. So so good.

    I said from the moment I saw the first trailer that Peeta was all wrong. He did a pretty good job, though, so I can't complain too much.

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  2. Also saw it last night, and as usual, I agree with most of what you said. Good job on the lack of spoilers! I did miss some of the political details that also endear Katniss more (like the Avox). Maybe for the next movie, you guys can join our big outing!

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  3. Agreed for the most part. I also missed the gift that was sent to Katniss from said deceased persons' district. In the book it felt that receipt of the gift, which was a sacrifice for the district sending it, was a pivotal moment for Katniss. It drove her in many ways, strengthened her resolve, and seemed to be a catalyst for things to come later on in books two and three. I felt it a blatant omission. But this is just me. PS- I had no issues with Peeta (JH).

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    1. Dana, I totally agree! I just couldn't think of a non-spoiler way to put that. Well done. :) I was also annoyed when Katniss didn't YELL Peeta's name when certain rules changed.

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