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- First reviewMarch 26, 2012
- Last reviewMarch 26, 2012
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ZisaAlyx's Reviews
Overall rating
5
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5
The Hunger Games is quite the Battle Royale
PostedMarch 26, 2012
ZisaAlyx
from Marietta, GA
The novel caused a sensation that crossed the globe. This spawned a widely acclaimed film loved by fans all over the world. It pitted teen against teen in a battle to the death with the government sanctioned games being covered by the media for the entire country to see as a measure to keep the population from rebelling.
That is the premise of the film Battle Royale released in Japan in 2000, as well as The Hunger Games released in 2012.
Both of the films, based on popular novels, have teen angst, puppy love, cruelty, and children chosen by the government against their wills to have their childhood and themselves killed-or-be-killed in the arena. Both have a young woman who stands center stage beside a young man and is the hope of stopping the insanity.
That's where the similarities end.
The Hunger Games focuses on Katniss Everdeen, a hunter from one of the poorer of 12 Districts which make up what remains of the U.S.torn apart by a long and bloody trauma. Called the Panem, the government demands each District hold an annual 'Reaping' of youths ages 12 through 18. One boy and one girl are chosen to be Tributes to the capitol. When her younger sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss volunteers to go in her place.
You can't help but like Katniss. She is solid, level headed, and nonchalantly larcenous. She loves her family, keeping them together through the loss of her father, through her mother mentally checking out after that loss, and helping to raise up her younger sister. She is not beyond her own flaws, but she is determined. She also has a charisma which gives her larceny a rebellious bent that doesn't seem to have an outlet. The Hunger Games change all of that.
Screen adaptations of novels frequently miss the mark. But Suzanne Collins' page-turning novel and the movie dovetail in a beautiful way. The novel is in the first person, giving you what's going on inside Katniss Everdeen's head. But what she can't see in the novel, you don't know. The screenplay, however, makes you a spectator watching The Hunger Games with commentary, more about the Panem dictatorship, without stealing the spotlight from the main story.
The performances never hit a wrong note, and their isn't one mis-cast in the bunch. The veterans and the new faces all combine delightfully. The costumes and make up, as well as the sets and locations, bring to life the bizarre and disparate worlds of the poor Districts' 'country bumpkin' look and the richer Districts' flamboyant and decadent lifestyles, to the arena of the Hunger Games and it's no-nonsense clothing and myriad environs. This makes The Hunger Games a rare film indeed. It will leave you satisfied, while making you want to see what happens next. The Hunger Games gets 5 Mocking Jays out of 5.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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