GENRE: Action/Drama
RATING: PG-13 for violent images
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 22 minutes
STARRING: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone, X-Men: First Class)
Josh Hutcherson (The Kids are All Right) Woody Harrelson (Cheers)
DIRECTOR: Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit)
WRITERS: Gary Ross (Big, Dave), Suzanne Collins (newcomer)
Billy Ray (State of Play, Flightplan)
PLOT: A boy and girl from twelve districts have to fight to the death on live television. Action ensues.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Shaky camera work to minimalize the uncomfortableness of teen on teen violence worked well. I was a little worried when the shaky cam was used in the introduction of District 12 though. Totally unnecessary and didn’t set the right mood. Luckily the camera stabilized.
2 Jennifer Lawrence does a ‘killer’ job as Katniss Everdeen. Great drama, great commitment to the character, great facial expressions. She does the perfect eye roll when she sees someone else stupidly make a fire in the woods. Perfection.
3 I actually read the book before seeing the film this time. I found the film covered almost everything in the book. I guess having the book’s author help write the screenplay helps. A good pace even though the film runs a tad long.
4 While there were small differences between the film and the book, they drastically changed the character of Haymitch. In the book, he’s a complete bastard who only reluctantly helps Katniss when he’s not yelling at her. In the film, he’s pretty much a Katniss fan and somewhat lovable. Don’t know if it’s the script or Woody Harrelson’s take; I was a little disappointed.
5 The film is called The Hunger Games, yet food doesn’t play as big a deal as it should. The book is full of descriptions of the food; the movie barely touches on it. This is unfortunate but not enough to wreck the movie so you should still check it out.
RECOMMENDATION: See it in the theatres
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Cabin in the Woods
4 comments:
Gary also thought the camera work in District 12 was too shaky and I agree with you on Haymitch being a lot different than I thought when reading about him. Glad you guys enjoyed it!
Thanks for the review! I have read all the books and am going to see the movie soon. It is great to know that it does the book justice. My biggest pet peeve is when the movie doesn't even resemble the book.
Saw it last night and agree with basically eerything you said. I thought it was really well done. Jennifer Lawrence did a wonderful job as Katniss! Have to admit, I enjoyed Haymitch in the movie. I didn't like him much in the book.
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