The Hunger Games (2012) Review

In 2008, author Suzanne Collins released The Hunger Games, a dystopian novel that has since become widely popular, having nearly 200,000 prints in 26 languages and expanding into a trilogy over the following two years. The novel is based off of Collins' channel surfing, watching people competing on a reality show on one channel and people fighting in Iraq on another and seeing a bit of a connection. It's actually one of the few books I read before ever knowing that there would be a movie adaptation, and I found it to be incredibly thrilling in how detail-oriented it was. So, as you could imagine, I was hyped for the movie, and I can honestly say the movie doesn't disappoint.




The movie takes place in the dystopian society known as Panem, an empire split up into 12 districts that rose after a vaguely known destruction of North America. The movie follows Katniss Everdeen, a young teenager living in the tragically poor District 12. Her sister, Primrose, is chosen to participate in an annual event known as the Hunger Games in which a young man and woman are chosen as "tributes" from each district to battle to the death, but Katniss volunteers to take her place. So, she and the male tribute, Peeta Mellark, are taken to the Capitol where they and the other 22 tributes train for the Games whilst also attempting to set an impression on sponsors who can gift them during the Games. After that, they're taken to the arena where the battle to the death begins.


Now, as far as looking at the movie as an adaptation, I feel that the changes the movie makes to the story actually help the movie improve over the novel. Essentially, as much as I loved the novel, it was nothing more than an introduction to Panem and an intriguing thriller, while all the deep messages on the topic were saved for the sequel, Catching Fire. This movie attempts to bring some of that material in, and it works well because the movie pushes aside the first-person perspective of the novel, allowing for other characters such as President Snow to have their scenes.


As far as looking at the movie by itself, it's brilliant. This dystopian society actually tells of a few problems with our society, such as being entertained by mindless, thrilling violence. Katniss is aware that death and violence are not things to be entertained by, as she actually lost her father in a mine accident. The audience views the Hunger Games as nothing more than a "good show," but she hopes to transform it into a way to change the ways of Panem. There are a few times when the movie displays the deaths of characters as what they should be; dramatic, as opposed to "HOLY SH**, THAT WAS A BADA** KILL! DURHUR!!"


One thing that people complained about from the hype is the PG-13 rating, as the book's violence is rather gruesome, but as this movie proves, the story never relied too much on the intense gore, so much as its detail-oriented thrills, and (though it is more gory than I expected) this movie captures just that. The scenes in the arena (or forest, whatever you want to call it) are very thrilling in how they're detail-oriented. Katniss has to be fully aware of her surroundings, so she's constantly looking around to make sure that she doesn't run into any other tributes. The sound mixing and cinematography manage to place the audience within Katniss's perspective, keeping them just as on the edge as she is. Think Paranormal Activity, but instead of just keeping everything in one picture, you're surrounded by danger and can't keep your eyes on everything. That is terrifying.


Whether you view the performances as spot-on interpretations of the characters or capturing personalities that perfectly coincide with the dystopian theme, there's no denying that they are stellar. Jennifer Lawrence's performance as Katniss makes me realize what makes her character so unique as a strong female lead. She shows the fear that comes before bravery, as she acts shaky and frightened before she steps up to take the challenges that approach her. Woody Harrelson captures the stubborn, cocky character of Haymitch, the mentor of the District 12 tributes, who acts like he doesn't give a crap about what happens to the tributes when in reality, he's worried sick, even though he knows he can't do anything to ensure their survival. Then, there's those tiny pieces that seem bland, but still necessary, such as how characters like Cato act like the tough guys since they train in an academy for the Games.


One of my favorite things about this movie is the relationship between Katniss and Peeta. It falls into that cheesy romantic crap that we see in a lot of movies, but here, it's meant to be that way. Peeta makes up the romance to put on a good show for the sponsors. But what makes it so great is that as the movie goes on, it's hard to tell if they're just putting on a show or if they're really falling for each other.


Is it a perfect movie? Not quite. The cinematography is terribly shaky, and there's one great scene at the end of the book involving Katniss and Peeta that sadly got cut out.


However, trust me when I say that everything this movie does right more than makes up for its flaws. Do not miss this movie, folks; The Hunger Games deserves to survive at the box office.


This movie is worth $19.


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