Harry Potter, Twilight and now The Hunger Games; Young adult novels being turned into lucratively successful film franchises is nothing new, but Hunger Games manages to have headier social commentary than the whimsical Harry Potter films or the female disempowering Twilight series. The Hunger Games is also at times brutally violent with a bleak outlook on a future obsessed with "reality" television, the rich/poor divide, looming fascism, and a highly regulated police state. These aren't new themes, but they are bordering on hard hitting when it comes to the topics usually found in young adult fiction.
The Hunger Games follows Katniss Everdeen a strong resourceful young woman as she is thrust into the 74th Annual Hunger Games. A competition created by the Capitol to remind the 12 Districts that now make up the former United States, now called Panem of their failed rebellion. Each year the children from every District age 12 and up get their names submitted to a lottery where the "winner" is given as tribute to represent their district in the Hunger Games, a "to the death" battle royale where the victor is the last one standing. When Katniss's little sister Primrose is chosen, Katniss offers herself as tribute to go in her place. Katniss along with Peeta Mellwark the male tribute of District 12 are then whiffed off to the Capitol where they are trained in weaponry and survival tactics as well as how to manipulate the media. Manipulating the media is essential to survival since the Hunger Games are broadcasted as entertainment to the citizens of the Capitol and the contestants have to gain support from sponsors if they want supplies they could use to survive.
The Hunger Games is amazing, I've waited two paragraphs to finally get around to the fact that this movie is fantastic. Don't get me wrong the movie has its fair share of issues that I'll delve into pretty soon, but man am I stoked that the new franchise kids seems to be obsessing about is legitimately great. Twilight will disappear into the ether later this year and thank all that is holy. Twilight has been a blight on this world for far too long. Too long have girls obsessed with a series that depicts women as emotionally unstable and single minded. Twilight sees women as items for men to fight over, beings with no ulterior motive other than to find a man, manipulate him into staying with you forever by attempting suicide and then getting pregnant to make sure he will never leave you. Its disgusting and the worst possible message you could send to young girls. Katniss on the other hand lost her father in a coal mining accident, and is now forced to feed her sister and mother by hunting with her mostly self taught archery skills. She single handedly raises her sister and cares for her mother, she fights with all her strength to protect them and she doesn't allow anyone to take advantage of her or treat her or her family poorly. Now that's a strong young woman that girls can aspire to be like and its what make her so easy to root for when she is forced to fight for her life.
Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss and her strength and determination as well as her complete disgust with the Capitol and its inhabitants is well portrayed. She is such an easy character to root for because she put others before herself and she is steadfast in her ideals and no matter how hard the games try they will not break her resolve. Lawrence is really the only person who could have played this part, she oozes a certain maturity and you utterly believe she can do all the incredible feats of strength and courage Katniss displays. Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta and he isn't as good, he simply lacks any motivation and you never understand why he is doing anything or why Katniss cares about him. For something that elicited audible swoons, the romance angle seemed tacked on, neither appears to have any real feeling for one another. There is a moment that alludes to that fact because the citizens of the Capitol have begun calling them "star-struck lover" and so you get the feeling they are playing up that angle to appease the fans but its still clumsily handled.
The Hunger Games knocks it out of the park, the film is thrilling and incredibly engaging as you watch these poor kids forced to fight each other knowing full well most will not make it out alive. The action is well staged, seen almost entirely from Katniss perspective we begin to react as she would at the sound of a twig snapping or a child screaming. There is a bit too much shaky-cam a style made famous by the Bourne films, but here it actually works for the films benefit, adding to the chaos and confusion. It also allows them to show the gorier deaths with some quick camera work; it can sometimes be disorienting but its bearable. I can't express how glad I am that this is what has taken the reigns from Harry Potter and Twilight, Hunger Games shows kids as incredibly intelligent, self-proficient and able to overcome any obstacle as well as or sometimes better than most adults. Katniss is a strong independent woman you can feel good about rooting for. I am personally thrilled to see this movie become successful, they have completely won me over, books purchased, expectations set, anticipating sequels. Great Job Hunger Games, Harry Potter looks down arms crossed with an overwhelming sense of pride, finally a successor to great young adult fiction.
(4 out of 5)
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