The Hunger Games (2012)
Certified: 12
Duration: 142 minutes
Directed by: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland
KRS release
Tapping into the young adult books market seems to be the latest fad since the adaptations of Harry Potter and Twilight made such a profitable venture out of it.
Penned by TV writer Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books that has been a worldwide bestseller and is now dominating the box offices all over.
The novel itself owes a lot to Japanese manga and the Japanese film Battle Royale (2000), even though the writer has declared that she was not aware of this.
The film is set in a post-apocalyptic future when Panem is led by Capitol President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland).
Panem is divided into 12 districts with the populace kept in line by the Hunger Games in which a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 enter a competition to the death. This effectively serves not only as a form of entertainment but primarily as a means of control.
Under Seneca Crane’s (Wes Bentley) leadership, a selection known as The Reaping is carried out and the Tributes are chosen.
When young Prim (Willow Shields) is called, her sister, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to take her place.
Along with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and their representative Effie (Elizabeth Banks), the two Tributes go to the capital.
Katniss is quite handy with a bow and arrow and the duo are given some training before the games.
Their mentor is Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), who once won the games, and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), who is a stylist.
Style is important as the children will be seen on TV and if they get good ratings, they could be sponsored and thus be given vital supplies.
Katniss ends up befriending the very young Rue (Amandla Stenberg) when they end up in the woods, fighting it out with the merciless Cato (Alexan-der Ludwig).
Director Brain Ross, who was at the helm of Pleasantville (1998) and Seabiscuit (2003), was a good choice for this adaptation, as too was the fact that Ms Collins herself eventually took on production and co-writing duties.
I enjoyed the vision that The Hunger Games presents − a world where everything is a televised reality show, where the ruling elite have control over everything and what the audience decides is king.
The Hunger Games benefits from its well-developed characters, especially that of Katniss Everdeen. She is played beautifully by Jennifer Lawrence, previously seen as Mystique in X-Men: First Class (2011) and who already garnered an Oscar nomination for her role in Winter’s Bone (2010).
This young actress is not just a pretty face, she brings a real intensity to the screen that won me over. The Hunger Games is also marked by its supporting roles where some of Hollywood’s best − like Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks who is full of evil mirth and Stanley Tucci as a delightful yet very dark TV show host − all deliver a good performance.
The Hunger Games is a very polished and well-produced film. The pacing picks up once the survival training kicks off, but thankfully a lot of focus is placed on the characters and the setting.
The resulting film will please both the rabid fans of the novel and the general audience and will most likely leave them begging for more.
Surely enough, The Hunger Games will be followed by adapt-ations of the other two books of the trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.