When the "Harry Potter" series came to an end last summer, people began to wonder what franchise would come along next to make its mark on Hollywood. So far the attempts have not been so successful ("John Carter" "Green Lantern") and while the Twilight series has made lots of money--the majority of the world despises it. So now we have the Hunger Games; a bestselling trilogy about an intense concept that involves twenty-four kids fighting to the death. The anticipation leading up to the premier was huge and now that it has been released has Hollywood found its next cash cow?
The land that was once North America is long gone, devastated by an unknown apocalyptic event. Now it is known as Panem, a nation divided into twelve districts and the wealthy and controlling Capitol. After a previous rebellion against the Capitol, a decree was made so that each year, children between the ages of twelve and eighteen would be selected from each of the districts to compete in an annual ceremony known as The Hunger Games. In these games, the "tributes" would battle to the death in a large arena composed of different environments (forest/desert/etc) until one victor remained. This year, in District Twelve, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) have been selected to take part in the games. With fiery outfits, incredible talent, and growing connection between the two tributes, Katniss and Peeta gain a lot of attention in the capitol before the Games begin. When the times comes to survive in the arena, the two must decide to either stick together or kill each other, and their decisions may have a larger effect on the corrupt Capitol than they know.
The big thing that "The Hunger Games" boasts is a well-rounded cast, with the two leads being up-and-coming actors, surrounded by better-known Hollywood stars. I've only seen Jennifer Lawrence in one other film but this Oscar nominated actress has started her career off with a bang. She captures the seriousness and emotionality of Katniss's personality brilliantly, which is impressive since her character does not have a heavy amount of dialogue for the majority of the film. Opposite her is Josh Hutcherson who, to be honest, I've never been a big fan of. While his performance was above average, he has some catching up to do in the sequels before he can reach the excellence of Lawrence's performance.
But the supporting cast--two in particular--is where I was most pleased in terms of acting. First, Woody Harrelson was by far the best casting choice as he stole every scene with his humor portrayal of Haymitch, the mentor to the two tributes (and my favorite character from the books). Harrelson finds a perfect balance between drunken fool and wise mentor and serves up many of the film's laughs. The other actor worthy of praise is Donald Sutherland who plays the evil President Snow who is showcased far more in the film than in the books. His character is a man of few words, but that is what makes him so menacing.
With a running time of nearly two and a half hours, I was a little concerned about parts of the film dragging out. Surprisingly, "The Hunger Games" has remarkably good pacing. The film never spends more time on a scene than it needs to and more often than not, the action and suspense speed the story along at a quick pace.
And there is plenty of great, high-octane action. With the film being about a futuristic version of the gladiator games, you know what to expect. Most of the killings happen off-screen or in quick flashes while others are quite brutal especially since they involve teens. Yes, the filmmakers did majorly tone down some of the more intense aspects of the games, but it shouldn't upset many fans of the books (it didn't upset me). Once all of the tributes go into the arena, the film quickly speeds up and never really slows down...and that's ok with me.
As a fan of the books, perhaps the most exciting thing about "The Hunger Games" is how great of a job the filmmakers did with the book to movie adaptation. The film captures the intense nature, the suspense, and the emotional power that the book had and any who have not read the book will have no problem understanding the movie. The film has everything: a unique plot, great action, superb action, and even a little romance. So has Hollywood found its next big franchise? With the film already meeting high praise from fans and critics premiering to the third highest opening gross of all the time, I'd say the odds are definitely in its favor. I give it three and a half stars out of four.
"The Hunger Games" has a running time of two hour and twenty-two minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images-all involving teens.
