The Hunger Games. It's on all the magazine covers this week. It has a lot of hype as book sales have skyrocketed since the trailer debuted this past November. The pre-sale tickets have set records. So does Suzanne Collins best selling book (the first of a trilogy) live up to ALL THE HYPE?
Before I answer that, for sure this is not like "Twilight" and this is not a "Battle Royale" ripoff (that was a film just to show blood & gore) so all the "Battle Royale" cult following fanboys need to stop whining, not even that book is original.
For the question whether it lives up to the hype, the answer is a big YES IT DOES. Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen straight out of the book. She does not care about her first kiss, her first boyfriend, she cares more about protecting her family, especially after her 12 year old sister Primrose was chosen to be put in the arena of death on live national television. She sacrificed herself to the arena so her sister would still live. She is protective of her and is protective of everyone she cares about. But she also is brave. Volunteering to take her sisters spot takes courage, you also see her being nervous when she heads into the arena, she's scared to death (I admit, if I were in any of the tributes shoes, I would be as well.) you see her change in the arena into someone willing to survive, killing when she had to but doing so reluctantly. Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire, is the best movie heroine onscreen since Ellen Ripley in the "Alien" franchise. I admit, the scene where the came out in the opening ceremonies on the chariots and Katniss & Peeta were lit "On fire" gave me chills.
There was even times in the film where the camera went first person in Katniss' point of view, which is different, hence the shaky camera work at times as it simulates Katniss running through the woods. The CGI was not heavily used, it was not an over the top sci-fi film. The supporting characters all were cast great. Josh Hutcherson & Liam Hemsworth were not battling each other like Edward & Jacob from that other book series that shall not be named. IN fact, Liam Hemsworth's character Gale Hawthorne is only in it for 30 minutes tops (Liam will never be as big of a star as his big brother Chris in my opinion) but Josh really does surprise me in playing Peeta. He did not come off as weak, but he was very good at being manipulative in saying he was in love with Katniss and playing to the cameras and crowd.
Woody Harrelson, couldn't have asked for a better Haymitch. Woody playing a drunk is pretty much a no brainer. Believe it or not, Lenny Kravitz was really good as Cinna. I remember reading fans wanted Adam Lambert to be Cinnna, and thank GOD that didn't happen. Cinna is her friend and wanted to help her make an impression and get peoples attention. Donald Sutherland as President Snow, you can see where he is diabolical, but to see what he really is like, we have to wait till "Catching Fire" to see his evil plans.
In all, this is the first must see movie of the year. Whether you read the books or not, it really is an edge of your seat movie. On a scale of 1-10, I give the film a 9 out of 10. It lives up to the hype and we have a new book series that will be a blockbuster franchise. Unlike that so called Vampire series, Katniss shoots those characters through the head ten fold. Whatever you hear about the comparisons are false, and the "Battle Royale" comparisons need to end as well cause this story is its own separate entity. Besides, if "Battle Royale" was so popular, why have many people not heard of it and only hear about it till after they read Hunger Games?
Leave a comment below if you HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE. Please do not go off topic, keep everything in this thread about the movie please.