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- First reviewMarch 25, 2012
- Last reviewMarch 25, 2012
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MandaMichelle's Reviews
Overall rating
5
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5
Wonderful Adaptation
PostedMarch 25, 2012
MandaMichelle
*SPOILERS*
After the previews rolled, a few fans behind me squealed at the LIONSGATE logo and the pre-games set-up began. I absolutely loved the portrayal of the seam along with the Hob. The forest was much more vast than I pictured in the book, but the Gale scenes with Katniss were spot-on. Reaping of the tributes gave me chills and brought tears to my brother’s eyes, as Jennifer Lawrence owned that scene.
On the rail to the capitol, Haymitch and Effie delivered their roles strikingly well due to acting and make-up. “That is Mahogany” won laughter from everyone in the theater. The capitol itself was stunning, and it had the absolute grandeur that was described in the book. Cinna’s role was just the right amount of sexy and subtle. Their fire outfits were amazing and pulled off better than I had imagined in the book, although the CGI needed to be sharpened.
THE GAMES STARTED OFF INCREDIBLY WELL. I wanted to applaud the beginning of the games due to the accuracy from book to film. Needless to say, everything up until the cave scene was spot-on and thrilling. Rue’s death and burial was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
The cave scene did… well… not live up to the expectations the book set. I understand they only had so much time to work with in filming and that the cave itself was a dark location to film, but it just wasn’t delivered to me. I want to blame Josh (Peeta) for the performance, but it may have been more about the timing and lack of time than the acting. And showing Gale after every on-screen kiss… that was overdone. It. is. not. a. love. triangle. However, the camouflage of the treebark on Peeta was amazing.
The end of Cato and the mutts was difficult to pull off, but the filming was spectacular. Cato was a success and the mutts were only mildly disappointing. The games’ conclusion was fabulous and everyone cheered in the audience.
Coming back had the bittersweet feeling the book gave and that was much appreciated. The filmmakers did a great job making it so the end tied in with Catching Fire but was concluded enough to give satisfaction even if the viewer doesn’t plan on watching the next films.
Filming: The shaky camera effect was a bit much at key parts, like the fight scenes and watching the careers. It was effective when Katniss has adrenaline pumping through her (the initial bloodbath, running from the fire), but a bit overdone. Often, but not entirely, the CGI was poorly incorporated due to the indie-style of the filming with somewhat random graphics tossed in (such as the commentary/tribute ratings).
Missing:
1. Madge giving the pin
2. Peeta’s father not visiting Katniss after the reaping
3. Introduction of the make-over team (aside from Cinna obviously)
4. No bread from district 11 after Rue’s death
5. The sadism of Clove when pinning down Katniss
6. Tributes did not come back as mutts
7. Avox’s and Lavinia were never explained
Why these are important:
1. Without the link between the mayor’s daughter and Katniss, there is virtually no connection between those “in power” and those without. Madge is the bridge between the heartless Peacekeepers/capitol dwellers and the people of the seam, and without her creates a much wider gap. Also, how will Katniss discover the news in the mayor’s office later on if not looking for Madge?
2. This lets very little come into Katniss’ mind about Peeta in the beginning of the trip, when in the book he is all she thought about (sizing him up, trying to figure out his plans, etc.). When his father did not visit Katniss and assure that her family wouldn’t go hungry, she therefore has to rely solely on Gale and her mother. This makes her less connected to the people of the seam that she has made so many deals/partnerships with.
3. Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Need I say more?
4. Katniss’ description of the bread’s importance is enough to remind her in later books of the peaceful protest district 11 gave by sending bread to her. It was unheard of to send a parachute to someone of another district that your own (especially when they still had Thresh), but district 11 is nearly more impoverished than 12! Sending bread (not their district product) to a tribute from a different district was a huge slap in the face to sponsors and the gamemakers, and the first protest given from 11. There wasn’t a riot in the first book, but it was damn well portrayed.
5. Clove’s dragging the knife down Katniss’ face was so much more sexy and sadistic in the book than the movie portrayed. I was disappointed but mostly because Isabella rocked the role of Clove and deserved more screen-time.
6. THIS HORRIFIED THE READERS but did not have its full effect in the film because the tributes weren’t portrayed in the mutts. I think this scene was not done justice, but it may be due to the fact that all creatures are more frightful in our imaginations than when others create them. I personally missed the touch of the tributes = the mutts.
7. Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Along with making Katniss feel partly responsible for Lavinia being a SLAVE.
Minor missing touches: the hovercrafts weren’t explained or used in the arena, her favorite soup wasn’t described, her survival skills weren’t given justice, Katniss didn’t use sleep serum to trick Peeta, Haymitch didn’t really sober up, there was no revelation that Katniss was using Peeta to survive
OVERALL: I absolutely loved it. This was an amazing film and portrayal of the book, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it again!! I give it an A alone and an A as a film adaptation.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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