The Moviejerk
  • Home
  • Film Reviews
  • Latest News
  • Features
  • Retrospective
Subscribe
The Moviejerk
491
3K
912
145
The Moviejerk
  • Home
  • Film Reviews
  • Latest News
  • Features
  • Retrospective
  • Film Reviews
  • Mainstream

The Hunger Games (2012)

  • Posted on April 2, 2012April 22, 2012
  • 281 views
  • 3 minute read
  • Janz Anton-Iago
Total
1
Shares
0
0
1
DIRECTOR: Gary Ross | CAST: Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland | SCREENPLAY: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins | PRODUCER: Lionsgate | RUNNING-TIME: 142 mins |  GENRE: Sci-fi/Action | COUNTRY: USA

Damned if I’m wrong, but The Hunger Games isn’t exactly the first of its kind. Minus points for originality, then, drawing reference left, right and centre – The Running Man, Gladiator, THX: 1138 and the astonishingly similar Japanese bloodbath cult-classic Battle Royale. But this is mainly the source novel’s major hurdle, re-imagining a post-apocalyptic North America steeped in totalitarian dystopia where mass entertainment revolves around reality-TV fight-to-death survival olympics. Let’s face it, it’s a recycled scenario, but where The Hunger Games really succeeds is in its set-up. Plus points to Gary Ross, who obviously understands the gears of cinema and produced a standalone piece that eschews swathes of prose into a convincing, urgent and often chilling piece of sci-fi cinema. The opening scenes, followed by the town-square ‘reaping’, are executed in cold and calculated precision, all cinéma vérité, shaky documentary camera aesthetic unusual for a Hollywood blockbuster fodder that renders these scenes free from gloss. Even when Ross takes us to the Capitol, the grotesquely decadent nucleus of Panem where people dress up like clowns straight out of revolutionary France era, his eye for satire is well and present, allowing to us to glimpse into a world so horrifyingly depraved that the elites’ sole entertainment is a death-match between proletariats.

Such a shame then that the titular ‘games’ that follow is drearily executed that we might as well be rolling our eyes and watching the back of out skulls for sheer entertainment. Praise Ross for injecting a much-needed urgency in the first-act, but when the main action is shot in blurry, handheld, tight close-ups where we barely see what’s happening, it’s a decision hardly rooting for. And depicting graphic violence is no excuse either – it’s a bloodbath match set in a merciless fascist state, not some Teletubbies treasure hunt in the woods. Sure, it’s geared towards the tween culture, but the decision to allow most of the action and deaths happen off-screen only lessen the impact and gravitas. Don’t even start on the rules and physics of the Hunger Games, which can change in a whiff, ruled by a Control Room that can materialise practically everything. Oh yes, of course, I’ve forgotten this is set in the future where they can summon rabid dogs out of dust and thin air to prey on the poor, hardscrabbled competitors. If there’s anything worth our sympathy here, it’s the unusually refreshing protagonist Katniss Everdeen (a remarkable Jennifer Lawrence, who adds depth and weight to the role). Stoic, resourceful and every bit the feminist that other ‘young adult’ heroines are not (yes, I am talking to you Bella Swanduckorgoosewhatevs), Katniss regurgitates the female hero of the modern Hollywood blockbuster cinema. She doesn’t need any man to stand her ground and survive, brimming with quiet intelligence and willpower to strategically rebel against an oppressive, dehumanised system. Hollywood needs more heroines like her, setting better role models for the younger minds, and not just some pale, uninteresting, wallowing wallflower whose paramount goal in life is to have vampire (or werewolf) boyfriend.

VERDICT:

A fascinating premise and an intriguing first act gives way to a blandly executed death-match that barely delivers the gut-punch this film deserves. The Hunger Games works better as a cautionary sci-fi dystopia and socio-political commentary on reality TV rather than searing cinema. Go see Battle Royale instead.

 

Total
1
Shares
Like 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 1
Related Topics
  • Battle Royale
  • Donald Sutherland
  • Gary Ross
  • Gladiator
  • Jennifer Lawrence
  • Josh Hutcherson
  • Katniss Everdeen
  • Liam Hemsworth
  • Stanley Tucci
  • Suzanne Collins
  • The Hunger Games
  • The Running Man
  • Wes Bentley
Janz Anton-Iago

Founder & Editor of The Moviejerk - a UK film blog dedicated to the cinematic experience, featuring no-holds-barred film reviews, movie chatter, occasional rants and passionate film lovin'.

Previous Article
  • Latest News
  • Movie Trailer

Charlize Theron is Evil Queen

  • Posted on March 29, 2012April 14, 2012
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
Next Article
  • Film Reviews
  • Mainstream

Young Adult (2012)

  • Posted on April 12, 2012May 6, 2012
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Film Reviews

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

  • Posted on November 17, 2018November 17, 2018
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
  • Film Reviews

Jackie (2017)

  • Posted on January 28, 2017September 19, 2018
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
  • Film Reviews

Gold (2017)

  • Posted on January 23, 2017February 1, 2017
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
  • Film Reviews

Allied (2016)

  • Posted on November 22, 2016January 23, 2017
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
  • Film Reviews

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (2016)

  • Posted on November 17, 2016January 23, 2017
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
  • Film Reviews

Me Before You (2016)

  • Posted on July 5, 2016January 23, 2017
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
  • Film Reviews

Possession (1981)

  • Posted on June 26, 2016January 23, 2017
  • Janz Anton-Iago
View Post
  • Film Reviews

The Neon Demon (2016)

  • Posted on June 23, 2016January 23, 2017
  • Janz Anton-Iago

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The Moviejerk
  • Advertise
  • Get in Touch
  • Get in touch. I won’t bite.
  • Home
  • Our Origin Story
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shortcodes
  • Terms of Use
  • The Moviejerk | Passionate. No bullshit. Just mad about film.
  • Features
  • Blog
  • Portfolio
  • Contact
  • Shop
Passionate. No bullshit. Just mad about film.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.