The Hunger Games was one of the most hyped up movies of early 2012, with massive countdowns leading up to it, midnight screenings and rave reviews. Coming into it I was pretty excited to watch it, with a plot consisting of 24 young boys and girls battling it out to be the lone survivor, a somewhat dark storyline, especially as it was only rated PG13 worldwide (M in Australia).
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We meet Katniss Everdeen (Brilliantly played by Jennifer Lawrence) who is quite the skilled bowman and part of District 12, one of the 12 districts participating in these ‘Hunger Games’. The Hunger Games itself are filmed and shown live across the region and are looked upon as a tribute to the lost lives of the past.
Everdeen’s younger sister Primrose, is extremely worried about being the randomly selected girl from District 12 to be chosen to participate in the games but Katniss guarantees her she will be fine. However, when it comes to the drawing of the names she is unluckily selected and looks set to be the chosen female of District 12 until Katniss volunteers herself, the first time it’s ever happened in that district.
The film seems to drag on a bit at the start, and while they are building up to the games and getting some character building going on as well, it feels too long. We meet other characters here including Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, the male selected from District 12, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, who’s very close with Katniss at the start but plays a very small role and then a host of actors involved in the games including Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Toby Jones and more. In fact, the cast is quite extensive with Donald Sutherland and Lenny Kravitz as well!
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When the games finally begin (it feels like an eternity) the scenes are quite exciting. I’m not sure if that’s due to the fact they made us wait an hour for any action, however when it comes it’s as good as it gets for a PG13 movie. While most scenes let your imagination do the work with shots moving away when it comes to the hits, there’s definitely some great moments and some which made the audience cringe in shock.
The storyline for the movie once they get into the woods (where the games are held) is good and I liked the concept. However some scenes were simply unrealistic in the lack of urgency at times or the huge amount of trust amongst other competitors.
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While I enjoyed the games and the ending too, the movie ultimately was too long. 142 minutes was unnecessary, and I felt if they had shortened this down it would be better received. There’s a lot of quiet moments in this film, which is usually something I like, however it’s just too long of a movie and I became a bit restless at times.
I had never read the popular selling books and I think this was a good thing coming into the movie as from what I’ve heard it’s a bit different and it’s also in first person of Katniss which may be a bit of a different experience.
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Overall, the movie was well made and brilliantly acted by Jennifer Lawrence. It had a good storyline, a great ending which sets up nicely for a sequel and some good effects. Ultimately though, it was too slow at the start and too long overall, which was a shame as it had a lot of potential. I think this is a film you have to see, as I’m sure some will love it but some will be the opposite. B-
Nice to hear some positive things about a film I’ve been looking forward to for a while. But you’re right – 142 minutes seems a bit long. Going from what you say, perhaps some cutting within the first hour would have helped.
Some people weren’t phased by the runtime but yeah it bothered me a bit. Still enjoyed it though – interesting to see how you find the length, I might be in the minority with this one! Thanks for stopping by Dan
I didn’t really like this movie, but I was willing to give it credit where credit was due. Likewise, you seemed to have enjoyed it, but I respect the fact that you call it on its faults. It was WAY too long for me – you describing the time leading up to the game as an “eternity” is very accurate.
Good, balanced review.
I’m not surprised people liked this movie, but I am surprised people loved it! I think it’s a case of people don’t go to the movies enough and were too easily impressed with this one as it was too long indeed.
I think it would appeal to its target audience. Feels too teeny boppy to me.
Have you seen Battle Royale? Now that was much better than this!
Yeah it’s done very well at the Box Office so clearly hit the nail on it’s target audiences. I’ve heard lots of good things about Battle Royale, have to get around to watching it!