**Movie Review! Movie Review!** If you don't give a damn about my opinions regarding the film industry, this post might not be your cup of tea.
Over the weekend, the fiance and I went to see "The Hunger Games". Some men would suggest I was forcibly drug there. Au contraire, mon frère . I was just as interested to see the film adaptation of this story as she was. (And if you're one of those tough guys who swore he'd never see it because he doesn't "follow trends" or "read books and see movies that interest teenage girls" well, then, your horizons aren't very broad. I'm sorry you're missing out.)
I read all three books about six months ago. I must say, it was a series I had trouble putting down. In general, I'm the kind of guy who reads things like 'Dracula', 'Lord of the Rings', Sherlock Holmes stories, and pretty much anything Stephen King writes. But I will also I read every 'Harry Potter' story with much vigor. It was easy to read but still had an engaging story-line.
If you're not aware of the plot, basically, it goes a little somethin' like this. Post-apocalyptic America has been ravaged by civil war. After the uprising, the country was left as 12 fenced-in districts, ruled over by the Capital. Each district is far away from one another, so they cannot work together to rise again. The districts each do a certain specialized job, such as farm, mine coal, or make clothes, and their products are sent to the Capital. In turn, the Capital provides a little of these products for the districts to keep them alive. The Capital lives a life of decadence, while the districts basically live- if they can at all- in poverty. As another way to keep the districts in check, the Capital instituted an annual event called the Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games, a girl and boy between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen at random from each district to compete. At the prescribed time, the 24 competitors are trained, then put into a pre-created arena to battle to the death. 24 children enter, only one can leave alive.
Our story follows Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year-old girl from District 12. District 12 is the mining district, where Appalachia used to be. Her father died in a mine explosion. She has resigned herself to take care of her mother and little sister any way she can. Because of power outages, the fence surrounding District 12 is almost never electrically charged. She takes to the woods with her hunting partner, an older boy named Gale, where they are able to catch enough wild game and pick enough fresh fruit to live on or trade for the supplies they need.
At this year's Reaping, where they choose the competitors for the Hunger Games, Katniss's 12 year-old sister is chosen. Obviously, feeling her need to protect her sister, Katniss volunteers to take her place.
I think the film did a good job of setting all this up and not being overwhelming, while still closely following the storyline. I've read many books, then seen movie adaptations, and walked away from the film thinking "That's not how the book went at all". The settings were very well done. (I believe the movie was shot in North Carolina for the "District 12" portions of the movie). Unlike a fake set in Hollywood, I felt like we were really in a desolate Appalachian mining town.
The futuristic Capital was clearly a computer-generated location, but it wasn't overwhelmingly computery, like "Beowulf". I really enjoyed the way they costumed the characters in the Capital, who were described opulent and overly flashy. They looked how I assume it would look if you threw every Dr. Seuss character into real-life in one city.
The action sequences within the arena were well-done. I felt like they showed what needed to be shown to get the point across, without being overly graphic (remember the target audience is still a 15 year-old girl). But at the same time, they still had enough to keep a blood-thirsty 24 year-old man interested as well. I especially enjoyed a scene in which Katniss gets stung by Tracker-Jackers (genetically altered bees who's sting causes pain and halluncinations). We see an awkward sequence through Katniss's eyes where she stumbles through the woods, not sure what she is seeing, and what is in her mind. All the while, the camera is drifting in and out of focus, and we get a shuddering effect, as if the film is getting hung up on the reel. The whole scene is very jarring.
The character development followed pretty close to the book, which I was happy with. However, the noticeable difference is that the book is told from Katniss's point of view, so we often get her internal feelings, especially about her fears for her family and her ongoing struggle to decide her feelings about Gale and Peeta. We're able to see some of that in her acting and reacting with Peeta in the lead up to and in the arena. We only get a few glimpses of how she feels about Gale before she leaves. But I assume these issues will be more addressed the second and third movies. We are also shown more situations from the Capital, during the games, which Katniss would never have known about.
**NERD ALERT** If you've hung with me so far, bare with me a little longer. I went to school for movie-making. So I always watch a movie a little different than the average person. I really enjoyed the way they lit the movie. Lots of imitated natural light. Especially moonlight. No reason to over-blow anything. I also thought the music choices were very well done. Everything seemed to marry the action very well. I always think the best lighting and music are the ones that make sense in the moment, but that you don't really notice if you're not looking for them.
Overall, whether you've read the books or not, I feel like anyone young or old, man or woman, can find some way to enjoy this movie. Obviously there will always be some people that don't like it, but I think a majority of people who like a good movie with a deep story, a little action, a little romance, and that "underdog against the world" feeling can dig on this movie.
Over the weekend, the fiance and I went to see "The Hunger Games". Some men would suggest I was forcibly drug there. Au contraire, mon frère . I was just as interested to see the film adaptation of this story as she was. (And if you're one of those tough guys who swore he'd never see it because he doesn't "follow trends" or "read books and see movies that interest teenage girls" well, then, your horizons aren't very broad. I'm sorry you're missing out.)
I read all three books about six months ago. I must say, it was a series I had trouble putting down. In general, I'm the kind of guy who reads things like 'Dracula', 'Lord of the Rings', Sherlock Holmes stories, and pretty much anything Stephen King writes. But I will also I read every 'Harry Potter' story with much vigor. It was easy to read but still had an engaging story-line.
If you're not aware of the plot, basically, it goes a little somethin' like this. Post-apocalyptic America has been ravaged by civil war. After the uprising, the country was left as 12 fenced-in districts, ruled over by the Capital. Each district is far away from one another, so they cannot work together to rise again. The districts each do a certain specialized job, such as farm, mine coal, or make clothes, and their products are sent to the Capital. In turn, the Capital provides a little of these products for the districts to keep them alive. The Capital lives a life of decadence, while the districts basically live- if they can at all- in poverty. As another way to keep the districts in check, the Capital instituted an annual event called the Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games, a girl and boy between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen at random from each district to compete. At the prescribed time, the 24 competitors are trained, then put into a pre-created arena to battle to the death. 24 children enter, only one can leave alive.
Our story follows Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year-old girl from District 12. District 12 is the mining district, where Appalachia used to be. Her father died in a mine explosion. She has resigned herself to take care of her mother and little sister any way she can. Because of power outages, the fence surrounding District 12 is almost never electrically charged. She takes to the woods with her hunting partner, an older boy named Gale, where they are able to catch enough wild game and pick enough fresh fruit to live on or trade for the supplies they need.
At this year's Reaping, where they choose the competitors for the Hunger Games, Katniss's 12 year-old sister is chosen. Obviously, feeling her need to protect her sister, Katniss volunteers to take her place.
I think the film did a good job of setting all this up and not being overwhelming, while still closely following the storyline. I've read many books, then seen movie adaptations, and walked away from the film thinking "That's not how the book went at all". The settings were very well done. (I believe the movie was shot in North Carolina for the "District 12" portions of the movie). Unlike a fake set in Hollywood, I felt like we were really in a desolate Appalachian mining town.
The futuristic Capital was clearly a computer-generated location, but it wasn't overwhelmingly computery, like "Beowulf". I really enjoyed the way they costumed the characters in the Capital, who were described opulent and overly flashy. They looked how I assume it would look if you threw every Dr. Seuss character into real-life in one city.
The action sequences within the arena were well-done. I felt like they showed what needed to be shown to get the point across, without being overly graphic (remember the target audience is still a 15 year-old girl). But at the same time, they still had enough to keep a blood-thirsty 24 year-old man interested as well. I especially enjoyed a scene in which Katniss gets stung by Tracker-Jackers (genetically altered bees who's sting causes pain and halluncinations). We see an awkward sequence through Katniss's eyes where she stumbles through the woods, not sure what she is seeing, and what is in her mind. All the while, the camera is drifting in and out of focus, and we get a shuddering effect, as if the film is getting hung up on the reel. The whole scene is very jarring.
The character development followed pretty close to the book, which I was happy with. However, the noticeable difference is that the book is told from Katniss's point of view, so we often get her internal feelings, especially about her fears for her family and her ongoing struggle to decide her feelings about Gale and Peeta. We're able to see some of that in her acting and reacting with Peeta in the lead up to and in the arena. We only get a few glimpses of how she feels about Gale before she leaves. But I assume these issues will be more addressed the second and third movies. We are also shown more situations from the Capital, during the games, which Katniss would never have known about.
**NERD ALERT** If you've hung with me so far, bare with me a little longer. I went to school for movie-making. So I always watch a movie a little different than the average person. I really enjoyed the way they lit the movie. Lots of imitated natural light. Especially moonlight. No reason to over-blow anything. I also thought the music choices were very well done. Everything seemed to marry the action very well. I always think the best lighting and music are the ones that make sense in the moment, but that you don't really notice if you're not looking for them.
Overall, whether you've read the books or not, I feel like anyone young or old, man or woman, can find some way to enjoy this movie. Obviously there will always be some people that don't like it, but I think a majority of people who like a good movie with a deep story, a little action, a little romance, and that "underdog against the world" feeling can dig on this movie.
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