Directed by Gary Ross.
2012. Rated PG-13, 142 minutes.
Cast:
Liam Hemsworth
Wes Bentley
Isabelle Fuhrman
Willow Shields
Paula Malcomson
Once a year, as penance for an earlier uprising against The
Capitol, each of the 12 districts in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem is
required to send one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18 to
participate in The Hunger Games. The 24 “tributes” are shipped off to the
Capitol where they’ll train for a couple weeks than head out into the forest
where they will literally try to out survive each other. Yes, this means only
one of them will leave these battlegrounds alive and be crowned the winner.
This person will then be showered with copious amounts of fame and fortune.
The kids are chosen at their annual “Reaping.” Basically,
all the adolescents have their name thrown into a bin from which two unlucky
contestants are drawn. This year in District 12, barely eligible and obviously
weak Primrose Everdeen (Shields) gets picked. Valiantly, her older and sturdier
sister Katniss (Lawrence) volunteers to go in her place. It helps her chances
that she’s an expert with a bow and arrow. She’ll be joined by Peeta
(Hutcherson). No one is kind enough to volunteer for his spot. Off they go to
The Capitol. Oh, I almost forgot: they travel with Effie Trinket, one of the
district’s head honchos. I only mention her because she’s played by ElizabethBanks in full drag-queen regalia. Also with them is their appointed coach
Haymitch Abernathy (Harrelson). He’s a past winner and obviously jaded by the
experience.
We get a lengthy section on our heroine training, learning
how strong some of the others are, how to play nice with the higher-ups and
being introduced to the world. Sorry, I failed to mention that “The Hunger
Games” are televised throughout the country. After more than sufficient
build-up, we finally get to the games. Teenagers trying to kill each other ensues.
On the surface, it’s a fine movie. The setup is a bit too
long as it is working really hard to make sure we like Katniss. Much of it is
extraneous energy since she has us wrapped around her finger the moment she
volunteers. This part of the film also makes sure we know who the favorites to
win are. By default, they serve as villains. We also get to meet a few bad guys
who will stay behind the scenes. This way, we’re fully vested in Katniss by the
time the action begins. Like I said, it’s overdone but it’s still effective.
For some of us, there is the proverbial 800 pound gorilla in
the room: Battle Royale. For those unaware,
BR is a 2000 Japanese film with pretty much the same
premise. A group of ninth graders are made to go off into the woods and
terminate one another until only one remains in the land of the living. The way
things play out in both movies makes The Hunger Games
essentially a remake, or re-imagining, with a bigger budget, more screen time
for adults and far more extravagant costuming.
That said, there is a major difference between the two
movies: what they choose to be a metaphor for. BR is a
microcosm of the way teenagers interact with one another and of adolescence
itself. The cliquish nature of high school and hyperactive teen angst take
center stage. THG ignores those things as much as
possible. Instead, it’s a riff on our ever-expanding fascination with and the
proliferation of reality television. It takes square aim at the logical evolution
of a genre in which the stakes are constantly being raised. This is a solid,
though still not quite fresh, topic for people in the target audience. However,
for those of us old enough to remember such films, it lacks the depth and
originality of such fare as The Truman Show or
The Running Man.
Taken on its own terms, THG is a solid
flick with slightly more on its mind than your average popcorn flick. Still, it
never gets preachy. After all, social commentary is not the main purpose here,
engaging and entertaining us through a likeable protagonist is. The other
purpose is precisely like almost all other big blockbuster movies: setting us
up for the sequel.
MY SCORE: 6.5/10
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