“The Hunger Games” phenomenon has taken over the world. The movie was released on March 23, and in the opening weekend made $155 million, breaking records and taking third place behind “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and “The Dark Knight” for opening weekend sales.
But the big question is: did the movie live up to the expectations of the fans of the New York Times bestseller? The answer is yes. Yes, it did.
If you have been living under a rock for the past couple of months, here is a short synopsis:
After years of revolt and turmoil from the people of the United States, the government took full control of the citizens of the futuristic country, Panem. The country is split into 12 Districts, and each year one boy and girl, aged 12-18, from each district are chosen to participate in The Hunger Games where the children fight to the death and a lone Victor remains. Sixteen-year old, Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, volunteers for her sister, Prim, when she is chosen as the female tribute of District 12 for the 74th annual Hunger Games. The movie follows Katniss through her journey of the Games and leaves you on the edge of your seat aching for more.
I first heard of this book in 2009, and when I read the summary, I didn’t think I would be a big fan of cheering on children to kill each other. But as I kept hearing the rave reviews and people talking about it, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. So, I read the first book. And it became an obsession of mine that greatly exceeded any Twilight fascination that I ever had. Then, Lionsgate released news that they would be producing a movie adapted from the series and my excitement exploded.
I counted down the days for over a year until the movie came out. I re-read the series over and over again, but that still didn’t satisfy my craving. I purchased midnight release tickets, made T-shirts, bought anything Hunger Games that I could find. And finally, the day came. March 23, 2012.
Some fans are not happy that small details were left out, but the movie is an adaption to the book, so there are naturally some differences.
This movie is full of action and adventure and a couple of comedic moments. The visual effects of the movie were extremely well done from the fire balls to the mutant dogs to the animations of the Capitol. The story line ran extremely close to the books, and I feel as though the director, Gary Ross, did a very good job at representing Suzanne Collins’ work.
I thought the actors who were picked for the movie were right on target. Jennifer Lawrence was absolutely flawless in her portrayal of Katniss. Lawrence gripped Katniss’ raw emotions and captured her perfectly the way Katniss was described in the books. Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark, did a great job with depicting Peeta’s innocence and soft-heartedness. Stanley Tucci, who plays Caesar Flickerman, was by far the most perfect man for the role. He portrayed Caesar’s fakeness and weirdness so well that it felt as if Flickerman himself had stepped out of the book and onto the screen.
The movie was rated PG-13, and rightfully so. There is a lot of violence, but not a lot of gore. Parents should definitely think twice before they take their children to see a movie like this.
All in all, I give this movie 8 out of 10 stars. If action is your thing, this is the movie for you.
The countdown has begun with just under 600 days until the release of Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games.
