4.5 Stars (out of 5)

There’s been a lot of discussion in the media about how this movie is too violent for kids. I would suggest that there wasn’t enough violence in the movie. Or at least the violence was disconnected from the young people. They would show a dead body, but hardly ever the act of killing them. Maybe, when we’re talking of serious issues like scared children killing other scared children the filmmakers owe it to the young audience to really show how real this subject really is. The choppy editing to get a PG-13 over R leaves the violence disconnected from reality, almost like a cartoon show. I think of The Passion of the Christ and how millions of parents took their small children to see that film, as they deemed it educational. The Hunger Games has an important message itself, with maybe 5% of the violence of Mel Gibson’s torture porn film. War is hell, and sugar-coating it or censoring it (even an allegory for it) isn’t going to help young people understand its true horror. I liked the films Super, Chronicle, and even Kick-Ass because they’re super-hero origin movies and at the same time cautionary tales of how certain glorified ideas in our culture can be dangerous when applied in the real world.

The first third of the film held so much promise. I loved their concept of a not-so-distant dystopian future and all its new “heritage” and traditions. I loved the training and preparation montages. It’s like preparing a soldier and a reality TV star at the same time. Elizabeth Banks did a brilliant job as the reality TV side guru, Woody Harrelson was good as the nonchalant survival coach (although I am sick of him lately, stop being in everything!) and Lenny Kravitz was just there, for some reason.

Once the Hunger Games actually began and the kids were rushed into battle, the film became pretty drab pretty fast. The story is good but not sure it was done the best way that it could have been. I found myself thinking back to The Truman Show and how dense that world was. I longed for a more creative control room like in that movie, or at least a teensy bit more time in it, and perhaps some characters with depth who are running the show behind the scenes. When they raised the sun early in The Truman Show it was shocking and moving. Night falls early one day in Hunger Games and it’s explained away with a throwaway comment. They could’ve done so much more, but they didn’t. Showing us the interesting camera angles used to watch the games, showing us more shots of people watching and rooting in the districts, and especially more shots of mourning families back home when their loved ones are dying on-screen might have made for a more visually appealing and emotional experience, especially near the end. Pretty much half the movie sees its main character hiding in a tree. Not much going on there. But again, I’d rather watch Jennifer Lawrence hiding in a tree than see Kristen Stewart sitting on a couch pregnant for a whole movie.

Jennifer Lawrence was pretty awesome here and you can tell she actually knew her way around that bow and arrow. Stanley Tucci was highly entertaining, as always! Although I couldn’t shake the thought that I have seen this character before, only with Harry Shearer in The Truman Show. Some interesting things revolved around the reality TV aspect with a few kids forming an alliance and the main characters engaging in a showmance, (even though she already has a boyfriend back home). It is like watching Big Brother or Survivor, but with higher stakes. This stuff was pulled off fairly well, and without being cheesy.

Although it’s a competent film, it feels like there were a lot of missed opportunities. I bet it’s a pretty good adaptation since the original writer was involved, but the directing felt a little lackluster at times. Gary Ross is a great screenwriter (Pleasantville, Big), but his direction on this falls short of Peter Weir’s multilayered and well textured Truman Show.

WHY WERE ALL SHOTS OF THE CAPITAL FROM ONE ANGLE? Not enough money in the budget for creating more than one side of the 3D buildings? It’s a beautiful city design, just wish we could see it from another vantage. Maybe the second movie will have a little more. The entire film lacks scope, but the acting and interesting source material hold it together.

Still a lot better than Twilight.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

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