The Hunger Games

Today Mom and I went to go see "The Hunger Games." My first thought was that it was good. I agree with the general concensus that it is a good adaptation of the novel, and it's not a literal retelling. The editing, script, and camera shots work together to make it almost on the verge of a documentary.

This "documentary" style helps improve the film, giving structure and eliminating the need for a bunch of voice-overs by Katniss, the main character. (other reviews have said this.) Yes, there are shots that are shaky, but they mostly occur during the Games' killings, obscuring some of the violence. The shakiness adds to the documentary feel. There are added elements not included in the book, such as Gamemaker conversations and their control room, and a conversation with the President.

One problem that I had with the book was its' pacing in two parts in particular: the time in the forest after the start of the Games, and the scenes in the cave with Katniss and Peeta. Thankfully, these parts in the movie are shortened.

Set design... I'd need to see the film again to focus more on the Capitol. Regarding District 12, you would almost forget that it is set in the future; it seems like it took place a few generations ago.  I didn't really care for the Conucopia; I thought it looked kind of weird- too angular.  I was kind of glad that the special effects team didn't go for making the "muttations" (wild dogs) as freaky as they were in the book.  "They" also handled the tracker-jacker hallucinations for Katniss in an interesting manner, revisiting her father's death rather than having her "see" orange bubbles and giant butterflies. (Really. Read that section.)

Characters.... Jennifer Lawrence was great as Katniss, especially. Someone did a great job when they cast Prim, Katniss' sister. I really liked Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, the stylist. I had pictured Haymitch differently while reading the novel, but Woody Harrelson is great. Amandla, as Rue, is lovable.  Effie was great, the actress getting the eccentricity just right.

You may need tissues... I started to cry during the reaping, when Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place, and Prim's screaming. Mom cried when Rue died.

The ending definitely lends itself to a sequel, and one more scene (not in the book) hints at what leads to the next movie. It was actually kind of fascinating, how they did it.

I would like to see it again.