Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Hunger Games Mini Review

*Just in case this doesn't go without saying, this contains some pretty big spoilers*


I was lucky enough to go to the midnight screening of The Hunger Games tonight in Sydney, Australia and let me say- it was worthy of the hype. I'm a late boarder of the Hunger Games train, but a fan nonetheless. Here's a quick overview of my thoughts.


As with any movie adaption of a book, comic, game, what have you, fans are always anxious to see whether the film remains faithful to the source material. Does The Hunger Games remain faithful to the book? Well, yes and no. There's no doubt that it was a film version of The Hunger Games, but at the same it felt different. For Scott Pilgrim fans, I'd say that's a good comparison. The film was faithful to the books, but at the same time made alterations to make it work as a film, and had a different feel. All the key events were in the film, from Peeta giving bread to Katniss, to Katniss' send-off of Reu. There's just sometimes a difference in delivery. The film does feel a little streamlined at times, but often it's not overly noticeable, such as the trimming down of the pre-game sections, whereas the point it's really noticeable is the game's finale. Foxface dies suddenly, then the muttations kill off Thresh, and after a relatively quick fight, Cato is popped off and the post-games section of the book happens in a very quick fashion. But it wasn't disappointing and was still enjoyable. One big difference between the book and film comes from the differences in format. In a book, it's not uncommon to have background information and characters' thoughts delivered to the reader, and the book created a very isolated, lonesome feel, where it's very well portrayed that Katniss is left stranded fighting for her own survival. In a film, however, this isn't easily done. Instead, information is cleverly shown through the commentators (such as the meaning off the cannons firing), and scenes in the control room, where the game is being run, and the proceedings are handled a lot like the control centre scenes from The Trumann Show. And this is what I was getting at when I was saying the film has a different feel. The book is focused on Katniss' struggle and her isolation. The film however shows how the actions in the Game affect the outside world, and we really get too see things differently, such as the beginnings of the uprising that takes place later in the series, and how Gale takes the relationship between Katniss and Peeta. In a way it gives the film more meaning at the sacrifice of some of the atmosphere the book had.
But all in all, it was a great film, and Jennifer Lawrence is absoutely beautiful. It gets a definite Thumbs Up from me! The odds are ever in the franchise's favour. Oh please, you know that line's going to be spurted everywhere, let me have my fun.

2 comments:

  1. I used to do reviews. Been planning on getting into that more. Especially when the evengers comes out. Deserves a great post.

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    1. Somehow never noticed this comment :\
      So gonna do an Avengers review tomorrow morning :D

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