The Hunger Games, a highly-anticipated adaptation that almost lives up to the hype

Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing The Hunger Games at midnight. Oh boy. If any of you ever thought the Harry Potter crowd was interesting, you’ve never seen a Hunger Games crowd. Anyways, onto the review. 

I admit that film adaptations of cherished books are never an easy feat. The fan expectations would make any director curl up into a ball with anxiety. Yet, Gary Ross did a stellar job, despite my initial apprehensions (his previous directorial endeavors include Pleansantville and Seabiscuit!!). What I liked most about Ross’s directing is that he showed most of the time instead of telling, and for an adaptation of a book that is written in first person narrative I think that choice was quite smart. While there are scenes that I definitely imaged differently in my head, the emotions that the film evoked were the same as the much-beloved novel. 

One of the main reasons I loved Katniss was because she was a fantastic female character that young girls could look up to. She wasn’t madly in love with her boyfriend, nor did she turn into a whimpering mess when he left her. Instead she was strong, brave, selfless and truly multi-dimensional. The casting of Jennifer Lawrence, in my opinion, was perfect. Despite the blonde hair, I knew she would be a superb Katniss, especially after seeing her in Winter’s Bone. Overall, I think the cast was great: Stanley Tucci was flawless as always; Liam Hemsworth was better than I expected; Josh Hutcherson was adorable, but I didn’t quite always believe the chemistry between he and Katniss; and I’m still not crazy about Lenny Kravitz as Cinna—I just don’t think he was coolheaded and mysterious enough in this role, but that could also be partly the lack of time to fully develop his character and his relationship with Katniss in the film.  

There is so much more to say, but I’ll keep it brief. The production values could have been a bit better in regards to the costumes. For a multi-million dollar film, I thought the costumes and special effects looked a tad cheesy (and what was up with that cornucopia?!). I will give the film credit for its pacing. It managed to hit all the important points in record time and I quite enjoyed seeing Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker, have a much larger role in the film. It was interesting to see the behind-the-scenes of the Hunger Games because in the books we only see as much as Katniss does. I’m glad Ross and fellow screenwriters Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray decided to include that. 

Overall, as a fan, I enjoyed myself. As an impartial cinephile, I think the film had some great cinematic qualities. It’s definitely still popcorn, but very mature and visually-striking popcorn.

Did any of you all go see it at midnight? Any of you going tonight?

Source: laviecine

23 March 11 Permalink