Hunger Games Review

This post contains some intimate details of The Hunger Games movie.  If you don’t wish to be spoiled please come back and read this post after you have seen the feature presentation.  Believe me, I am confident in saying that you should go and check it out ASAP.  =D  Continue at your own risk!

Yesterday Jack and I went to see the highly anticipated movie.  I was beyond excited and it did not disappoint!  Let’s start with the trailers though, I need to tell you that I saw one of the silliest, stupidest movies ever: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

No joke.  It looks ridiculous!  I can’t believe they actually made something like this.  For all my history buffs out there, I’m so very sorry.  In other previews we saw another vampire movie that is set in the 1970s…again, a bit weird for my tastes.  The Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 trailer was also shown and it didn’t immediately turn me off but how are you really supposed to swing the line “We’re the same temperature now” and make it sound enticing??  Yea, that’s what I thought.

Anyways, movie time!  It was a great presentation.  I was very impressed.  While the content of the book, simply by its nature, is very dark and saddening, the filmmakers did a good job getting the point across without going overboard.  I really enjoyed that the whole thing wasn’t overly gory (which, let’s be honest, it easily could have been when you have poor children killing other children for “sport”) and it stuck fairly close to the book.  Now, let me clarify what I mean by “close to the book” though before anyone jumps on my case.  I simply mean that while there were differences between the two (how could there not be?) there were none so glaring that I was angry, disappointed, or distracted.  For me, I count that as a win.  Another thing I liked was how the game control was portrayed.  It was very much a game, not an arena where anything can happen.  Cool technology.

So, on another note, I may be a sap (which is especially dangerous in non-waterproof mascara) but I should let you know that I cried three times:

1. The Reaping: I couldn’t even handle it when Katniss steps up and volunteers in place of her sister.  The screams, the emotion, the heartbreak.  It was like it was actually happening.

2. Rue’s death: The death was awful to watch and Katniss’s reaction was gut-wrenching.  It made you really mourn the passing of a character you had seen in all of seven scenes.

3. Cato’s death/the end of the games: Crazy, huh?  That I would cry over the “villain” of the series but really it was the whole scene, the whole situation.  He realized he was dead and that there was nothing he could do about it.  Then he dies and you can almost feel the relief of tension in the movie, a catharsis of sorts.  There are hugs between Katniss and Peeta and then the announcement that there can only be one victor.  How sad and scary that must have been.  Nuts…

Next, I wanted to take a moment to comment on the characters since they are the heart of the whole film and we had come to know them so well through the book(s).  First off, the whole cast is one good looking group.  I mean just check out the tribute bunch:

Needless to say, I think the casting directors did so well in picking the people to play our beloved cast.

Katniss is portrayed in such a way that she is strong and vulnerable at the same time.  There are moments where you actually believe that the horrors are actually happening to the actress, not that she is pretending.  It was powerful stuff.  For Peeta, I must say that he makes bewilderment look super cute.  He played his role well and I really got attached.  The next two movies are going to be hard.  Gale was a strong, mostly silent presence, but for the moments we did see him I think he was cast well.  Effie, though, was probably my favorite.  I honestly think she stole almost every scene she was in.  He little wobbly tendencies, over-exuberance, and quick witty one liners were great.  “Manners!”  The great costuming I think helped everyone really be one with their characters too so props to the designers!

On a slightly downer note, there was one thing that I really didn’t like and that was the choppy camera work here and there, heavily in the beginning of the film.  I get why this kind of imaging was used as I presume it was to really impress the gritty nature of life in District 12 and the chaos of the whole situation.  It sort of made me slightly sick for a few brief moments but once you get past it, the rest was totally fine.

In the end, the bottom line is that the movie was great and it is totally worth a watch, or five.  I kind of wish it was already on DVD because I want to watch it again, right now, tonight, please.  Sadly, to do that any time soon, means shelling out another $7-10…  We’ll see.  Anyways, I loved the movie; I loved the book; and I cannot wait for the second and third ones!  P.S. I need this sweatshirt.  =D

Questions: Have you seen The Hunger Games movie yet?
Are you planning on, or have you already, read the book before seeing the film?