The Hunger Games

Sometimes I see a trailer for a movie, and it doesn't do anything for me. It isn't that the film looks bad per se, just uninteresting. Like when I saw the trailer for The Hunger Games, it just did not stimulate any kind of response. Again, not because it looked back, it just passed over me. When I finally saw Hunger Games though, I was pleasantly surprised, and found that yet another movie had been shafted by marketing. I'm not sure this is the new Harry Potter, but it's pretty damn good. In the future, twelve districts rose up against the evil Capitol and were violently defeated. As punishment, each district much offer up a young boy and a young girl as tributes in The Hunger Games, a battle royale to the death. In order to save her sister from the Games, tough-girl Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers herself. Katniss and her fellow tribute Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are from the poorest district, and as a result are expected to die first. The two make friends in Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), but when the competition starts, everyone is on their own. Walking into The Hunger Games, I expected an anglicized version of Japan's Battle Royale. I expected the same plot only with a heightened romance, wacky sidekicks, and possibly Nazis. The good news is that I was wrong. The Hunger Games is its own thing for its own audience. Everything from the stark beauty of its sad world to the intricate mythos is very immersive and memorable. The Hunger Games is intense. The whole film is chock-full of tension that Martha Marcy May Marlene could only dream of. Each scene is directed as such; this is not an action movie, it isn't funny, and it is not Twilight. We feel the desperation of the contestants, unprepared teenagers forced to slaughter people they were allowed to befriend beforehand. Gary Ross does a great directing job, the script is really good, and the acting is damn fine. All the leads rock their roles, even Lenny Kravitz. Considering the record-breaking box office of this film and how long it has taken me to write the review, whoever's reading this has probably seen this film. If you haven't, do so. The Hunger Games deserves its popularity, and I can't wait for the sequels. I was really happy that I ended up seeing this film. This is mature very well done drama that should not be sold short because it's based on a teen book. Also, it actually finds a way to make its audience think without being preachy. Highly recommended.