Self Reviewed: THE HUNGER GAMES

Self Reviewed: THE HUNGER GAMES

Wondering whether or not to go see Gary Ross' adaptation of The Hunger Games this weekend? Hit the jump to find out if the odds are ever in its favor...

Review Opinion
By cself85 - Mar 23, 2012 11:03 AM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi
Source: reviewself.blogspot.com



Why do the most powerful themes always resonate from the most impossible choices? I'm not just talking about sacrifice; but sacrifice laced with love, honor, ethical and moral aptitude, and the will to survive. I believe "The Hunger Games" conveys every possible moral dilemma that can weigh on the human condition, and then some. It is also a motion picture of exquisite detail puncuated by beats of unbearable tension. How some of these characters don't die from tension-induced cardiac arrest, I'm not sure.


Gary Ross has directed exactly two feature films before "The Hunger Games." Whatever you do, don't disregard this movie based on his relatively short resume. I would wager that few directors would have been able to understand this world as Ross seems to. Consider his "Pleasantville," about a brother and sister transported into the surreal world of a 1950's sitcom. No explanation is ever given for this miraculous event, but none is needed. Gary Ross goes full-stop into the fantasy realm and allows his characters to transform, along with the entire world around them. For something like "The Hunger Games," his previous film is a good one to have on his track record because whatever explanation is needed for the audience (mostly for those who have not read the novels, like myself) comes through the vibrant detail and by watching how the characters percieve this world. After a helpful set of opening titles explaining in broad strokes what the ground rules are for this distopian existence, the characters immediately serve as the reference point for our understanding.


In a future America, society has rebuilt itself from ashes after war ravaged, well...everything, I guess. At some point, a rebellion took place and as punishment, the country was divided into twelve districts, all in various states of wealth, poverty and privilege. Each year, a male and female between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen from each district to compete in the cruelest reality television show imagineable. 24 "tributes" are put into a wildlife preserve style arena and must fight, kill, or survive until only one is left. This is dubbed "The Hunger Games" because I suppose that sounds better than "poignant satire of the kinda crap we watch on t.v. already." It is explained that this began as punishment for the rebellion, but has now evolved into a "unifying" event that is symbolic of the hope and triumph that came out of the war. Watching the scenes of game master Seneca (Wes Bentley) explain this is strangely reminiscent of current political PR hogwash. The games are monitered, and sometimes omnisciently controlled by "the Captiol," which itself is controlled by President Snow (Donald Sutherland, unfortunately phoning in).


That's another thing; just over a week ago, in my review of "John Carter," I lamented all the names I couldn't pronounce from that film. I spoke too soon. Here there are people like Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), whose name sounds like an adjective. She volunteers to be the female tribute from district 12 (the poorest) because her younger sister, Primrose (Willow Shields), was chosen from the lottery. In these districts, to buy simple ammenities like food and wares, one must submit their name to the lottery. In any given year, this could mean they might have their name submitted many times, such as Katniss' friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), who has 42 entries this year. He gets a free pass, however, because Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is chosen as the male tribute from the 12th district. Peeta and Katniss have no doubt met before, in a misunderstanding neither of them has ever spoken of. Yet here they are, on a train traveling 200 mph toward the Capitol and escorted by chaperone Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, unrecognizeable). Anyone else think her name conjurs images of a vulgar garage sale item? Katniss and Peeta also meet Haymitch Abernathy, a former champion of the Hunger Games who will serve as their trainer and mentor. As played by Woody Harrelson, Haymitch is one of the two characters I was interested in most. He advises the new tributes well, but seems to regard them each as a tragedy doomed to fail. Oh he may have his hopes for who might come out of the arena alive, but he also seems to convey that no matter what the outcome, there is no real "winner." That's the tragedy.


All 24 tributes are groomed, pampered, catered to and trained for battle in a series of sequences that prove to be the film's most intriguing. Stanley Tucci plays a vivacious talk show host named Caesar Flickerman and it is through him that much of the exposition exists in the form of commentary, keeping the audience up to par on who is dead, etc. During his interviews of the tributes, we realize that Caesar is exactly the kind of man to thrive in this society because self-interest is a constant motivation, whether by choice or desperation. Flickerman's wardrobe and hair might suggest a bit of both. If anything, I'd say "The Hunger Games" is a sure-fire nominee for best hair and make-up design, and perhaps art direction as well. The costumes, hair colors, props and lunacy of luxury that exists in the captiol is strangley similar to the style of "A Clockwork Orange." The style actually figures prominently into the plot, because the tributes must get the audience to like them if they want to earn sponsors, who may send in valuable tools or weapons to their favorite competitor. Another person of interest is Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), who helps assist Katniss with being herself and the two form a touching and believable relationship. It's a shame when he is side-lined in the movie's last act.


In time, all of the tributes are released into the arena. I suppose I will spare the details of what happens to save the, er, pleasures of watching it unfold for the audience. Needless to say it lives up to its premise and tributes start getting sliced, diced and variously killed in increasingly brutal fashion. Some of the deaths are more poignant than others because of the ages of certain characters and also because of the relationships that inevitably have time to form. This is where the most cruel moral dilemmas come into play. What can motivate a person when their only two choices are to either be killed, or to kill everyone else, including those they may love? How do they have conversations when the pink elephant in the room is that they'd both rather keep their lives? Do they shamefully feel deep down that they'd prefer the other be killed or rather sacrifice their own life to save another? It is in these questions that "The Hunger Games" is the most effective. The tension comes from the fragile emotions just under the surface that could burst at any moment and destroy someone's entire existence; not just literally. The action and physical fights that occur are just the vehicle for the real fight for survival, which is the endless mental torment perpetuated by these circumstances. If such a society did ever exist, how could anyone live with themselves?


Despite its great strengths, "The Hunger Games" could use more room to breathe, even at 142 minutes. There are characters that seem to be forgotten and awkward moments of random commentary that are surely for the viewers' benefit rather than the in-film television program, which itself is never really fleshed out all that well. There is also a crucial moment late in the third act where two tributes' actions defy everything they've demonstrated up to that point, and it serves as a deus ex machina for Katniss, allowing her to get out of a situation that she wouldn't otherwise be able to reasonably get out of. It's a moment that belongs in a lesser movie, and because Katniss is such a compelling heroine, she deserves more. A director's cut for the blu-ray might be in order to see how much further this world can go. Although, with two sequels that are certain to follow, I'm sure many of these issues resolve themselves.


"The Hunger Games" may look on the surface like yet another franchise based off some wildly popular series of fiction novels (it is) but it is perhaps the most culturally relevant example yet. "Harry Potter" is certainly timeless in its own way, and the battle of good vs. evil has always been compelling. What "The Hunger Games" provides transcends the simple concept of good vs. evil bcause it exists in a time when good and evil are defined by no clear terms; the lines are blurred. For this reason, it is also relevant to a much wider and diverse audience, unlike another popular fantasy series that restricts itself by limiting its ideas to the 'impossible' fantasies of a young woman's mind. The scary thing is, I'm not convinced a society like the one in "The Hunger Games" is impossible. Society has long been at the crux of distasteful entertainment and should we ever find ourselves existing in Panem, it would not surprise me what we find ourselves capable of doing; whether by choice or desperation.
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headlopper
headlopper - 3/23/2012, 1:28 PM
Terrific, very well written review. You need a pay check!

As for the movie, it's not my cup of tea. I just don't find it entertaining to watch kids kill each other regardless the social elements.

There's enough moral ambiguity in society already- and THAT'S not entertaining either.
DCwanabe
DCwanabe - 3/23/2012, 1:43 PM
Great review man.

@headlopper It was not entertaining to watch kids kill each other, they intentionally made it that way though so that the audience would feel the disgust and anger the fictional characters on screen felt. I loved the story because I know it will go somewhere great, I cant wait to see how this twisted world is made whole again. but I am sure that it might be too much for some people. It was a bleak movie but there was hope in it and that was what made the movie kind of refreshing.

I recommend it but I understand if its too dark.
headlopper
headlopper - 3/23/2012, 2:07 PM
@DCwanabe- I understand.
I just feel 'at the end of the day' a movies' primary purpose is to entertain and provide a little escapism.

It's not the dark tone, it's that I can't emotionally invest in the character's because of the story's premise.

Kid's hunting kids-?...no I'm sorry, I don't like it.

Kid's rising up and taking over? Yeah, that's better!
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/23/2012, 2:47 PM
Great stuff dude, and agree on pretty much everything. .but would have liked to hear what you thought about the lead performances?
cself85
cself85 - 3/23/2012, 3:15 PM
Thanks for the comments everyone. @RorMachine, I felt like I was feeling so much when watching, that I wanted to focus on the visceral impact of the story and themes. As for the leads, I think at this point, Jennifer Lawrence has nothing to prove to anyone. She's exceptional in the role. Comparisons to her Ree Dolly from 'Winter's Bone' are easy, but unfair. She is basically the center of the moral dilemmas I spoke of in the review. She carries every range of emotion exceptionally. Its a subtle performance in a film that doesn't require them. She is certainly the most fleshed out character. As for Josh Hutcherson, I haven't quite settled on what I think of him. He reminded me of Robert Pattinson once or twice, which is unfortunate. But he has a brooding face which I think plays nicely in contrast to Katniss. He has that tension bubbling under the surface, because there were a couple times I felt like he COULD kill everyone. *SPOILER ALERT* When he offered his life to Katniss at the end, however, I didn't believe him. That moment didn't play true for me. It's like he had a card up his sleave or something.
Flohan
Flohan - 3/23/2012, 3:27 PM
After seeing the trailer I felt like the author fused Battle Royale with Running Men/Gamer etc. Are there more similarities besides kids fighting each other for survival and people fighting in a tv show?
cself85
cself85 - 3/23/2012, 3:32 PM
@ Flohan, you can rest easy. I assure you as someone who has seen Running Man, that the similarities pretty much end with the "fight to the death" tv show. WHat matters is the entire context of which it is placed and the society it serves. The point of this is not the actual hunger games, but what the society's need for them says about humanity. What are we capable of? And what would take us to that point? This is far from some tireless retread. I think anyone who sees it will feel like it is something new and hopefully it gets people thinking.
thorne316
thorne316 - 3/23/2012, 3:34 PM
I really had a problem with this movie all around. They pretty much took Battle Royale, removed the blood and gore and made this movie family friendly for 11teen year olds.

Instead of showing violence and gore, they shook the camera. Katniss was just a weak character that they tried trumping up by cheap parlour tricks and a fancy haircut. She started out this amazing hunter who could shoot anything with a bow and during the movie got dumbed down to the girl who shoots squirrels eyes out for fun, who's barely worthy of tossing a loaf of bread to. The District 12 male counterpart Peeta is a worthless douchebag who needs to be cuddled with all the god damn time because his poor leg gets a bit scarred up.
There was not enough character development anywhere to make any sort of real connection or sympathy for these characters. Halfway through the movie I was praying that they would all just step on land mines and the whole thing would just end and be over with.

I reluctantly give The Hunger Games 1/5 stars and that's being generous.
Flohan
Flohan - 3/23/2012, 3:47 PM
I guess I'll wait for a blu ray release and then compare it with Battle Royale, it's one of my favorite Japanese movies
headlopper
headlopper - 3/23/2012, 4:14 PM
@thorne316 - "land mines'...LOL!
GeekyCheekyChic
GeekyCheekyChic - 3/23/2012, 5:02 PM
I dont think Thorne saw the same movie.
At no point was Katniss 'dumbed' down to a girl who shoots squirrels eyes out for fun. Peeta was professing his admiration for her skills as a hunter. She hunted squirrels to sell them at the black market to support her family. AND guess what I didn't read the books- that information I gathered from the film so some character development must have happened at my theater.
Next- You are reading internet and you didn't see this movie or you didn't see Battle Royale because they are 2% similar if that. Its like comparing Star Wars and Star Trek- yeah they are both set in space...and end comparison.
Next- Peeta took a sword to the leg and they showed a deep gash that went down to bone so again not really thinking we saw the same film.
And as for removing gore and blood--some of us don't need to see a 10yr old kid get their throat slashed full camera.
5 out 5 stars from me--can't wait til next years sequel.
GeekyCheekyChic
GeekyCheekyChic - 3/23/2012, 5:10 PM
oh and btw -tossing bread to Kat(because of socio-economic class differences despite being in the same district)would have gotten him in trouble. He took a chance by tossing the bread but he told her he wanted to walk over in the rain and just give her bread---again I guess the story and character development was at my theater and not yours.
GeekyCheekyChic
GeekyCheekyChic - 3/23/2012, 6:06 PM
Lord of the flies---check it out the original Battle Royale... sound absurd? same here. Anybody who has seen Battle Royale and Hunger Games knows they are not the same outside of kids killing kids and people watching.
thorne316
thorne316 - 3/23/2012, 6:51 PM
My previous statement stands as is and I stick to it. People can praise this movie and read into it for all of it's supposed "relevance on today's society" but it's been done. I never said it was a shot for shot rip off of battle royal but the concept is the exact same. There's just too many holes in this movie to fix. Examples.

In Battle royal all the kids were giving explosive collars and told to keep moving or they'd explode. They had a 3 day time limit to win or they'd explode. If they left the island...you guessed it, they'd explode.

In the Hunger Games, if they tried leaving there were magical walls of fire. There was no said time limit or consequences of not fighting to speak of. They were all given survival tools, weapons and a huge mountain of food, to which Katniss was stupid and blew up for no reason. They could have all just said [frick] it let's just live on the island, there were never any potentially explained consequences of doing so. And that would of had far more social relevance of a small group of young individuals uprising against the cruel tyranny of the government.

In my opinion
daywalker1623
daywalker1623 - 3/23/2012, 6:56 PM
@headlopper there will be uprising in the second and mostly third movie.
You have to understand when it comes to kids killing kids, that's not the point. The point is that the government can do it to them. They are showing their power and control by taking their children and making them fight to the death.
The reason it is it hits home with people is because there have been societies throughout history that have used similar tactics to control their citizens. Even our own uses fear to keep our own citizens in check through the media.
If you look deeper into the story you find that there is a lot of subtext that is very relatable to our own country, present and possible future. Fear is very powerful. Look past kids killing kids and you will find a very thought provoking story.
thorne316
thorne316 - 3/23/2012, 6:56 PM
Oh and Katniss being queen of the black market squirrel hunt is quite possibly the lamest idea for a main character ever... just sayin.
headlopper
headlopper - 3/23/2012, 7:35 PM
@daywalker1623 - Bro, I get it. The kid killing is a plot devise used as a vehicle to transport the viewer/reader into a state of social examination.

I know the world sucks in many regards, that's why I go to the movies- to escape all that sh** for a couple hours, not have it shoved in my face dissembled as entertainment.

It's just not my kind of movie. Not bashing it.


headlopper
headlopper - 3/23/2012, 7:38 PM
@thorne316 - "And that would of had far more social relevance of a small group of young individuals uprising against the cruel tyranny of the government."(your quote)

That's where my head's at. I think that's a good idea!
Although @daywalker said that might happen if there are future films- we'll see.
daywalker1623
daywalker1623 - 3/23/2012, 7:55 PM
@headlopper i guess it comes down to personal preference. I like movies that bring about thought provoking conversation about a myriad of different things whether it be politics or social issues.
And I guess some people just enjoy being pandered to with fun action that isn't really anything different then what has been done before. I'm not saying this to be insulting, just telling it how I see it. Enjoy Michael Bay and James Cameron movies.
daywalker1623
daywalker1623 - 3/23/2012, 7:57 PM
@headlopper and yes there will be more movies seeing as how this one made almost 20 million on the midnight showing. And yes(spoiler) there is an uprising, however it does involve more politics making you wonder if the side you are on is really the good side.
headlopper
headlopper - 3/23/2012, 8:28 PM
@daywalker1623p- I get cha' , I really do. A film like this is a good conversation starter for you...and it is! It's your preference .You like it and enjoyed it! You got your money's worth.

I simply prefer a different 'source' to provoke myself to self-examination.
I read the Bible.

And you misjudge me! I wrote movies are entertainment to me and NOT a mindless psychological joy-ride as you infer.

You mis-characterize my perspective of film as entertainment by generalizing it in base terms. That's not fair.

There are films with little to no action that are immensely entertaining to me! Alot of B & W 40's era stuff for example.

And no kids are slaughtered to make a social statement.



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