This past Saturday night, we were able to catch the preeminent cultural event of 2012: “The Hunger Games”. Well, maybe not quite, but its right up there. Although it was hard to top the excitement level of this uber-fan, I admit was looking forward to seeing it unfold on screen.
I am pleased to report that the movie did in fact live up to the hype. The 140+ minute running time (plus 20 minutes of previews!) flew right by. The movie (and its sequels) will make a pile of dough no doubt. In lieu of a plot summary (which many already know), I’ll provide my analysis.
The main takeaway was a sense that everyone involved with the movie wanted it to work and be successful. Too often, I’ll see a movie and can tell that Mr./Ms. A-list just wanted to cash the $10 million check, the director and producers rushed it through so they could get on to their passion project, or it was such a mess that 6 writers were needed to save the script. No such sense here. I take it as a testament to the quality of the source material that everyone worked very hard to ensure it was a proper telling of the story. Very similar to the Harry Potter/LOTR franchises, and with my favorite book and miniseries, “The Stand”.
There was a lot to like about “The Hunger Games”, the movie (I don’t think there are too many spoilers):
- The casting of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. A wonderful combination on toughness, determination, grace, and inner beauty. It’s too bad this wasn’t released in the fall/winter, otherwise she might be a darkhorse Oscar contender. She may still be if the movie continues to break box office records.
- Stanley Tucci nailed it as the host/MC of the Games. Get this guy hosting American Idol, stat:
- The musical score was a great mix of standard blockbuster orchestra and more quiet “Americana” folk. Reminded me a lot of the music from the aforementioned “The Stand”.
- The editing and sound mixing/effects were some of the best I’ve seen in some time in a movie. The subject matter is brutal at times, but in the manner of how it looked/sounded on screen, they were careful to not go too gory and endanger a PG-13 rating. As the suspense masters know, the scariest stuff is not what you see/hear, but what you don’t see/hear. Also, toggling to a 1st person POV (from Katniss) was smart as well.
A few final observations:
- Donald Sutherland can play a great villain.
- Worst sci-fi futuristic costumes since “The Fifth Element”.
- The Katniss/Peeta height discrepancy would spell certain doom in today’s world. In the bleak-looking future, perhaps not so much.
- A fine companion piece to the celebrated campiness of “The Running Man”.
- My favorite “make-ya-think” moment happened early when Gael asked if everyone could, would they stop watching The Hunger Games, thereby weakening the control of The Capitol. It’s a rhetorical question I keep asking myself as I see another “Real Housewives”, Kardasian, Duggar, and “Wacky Fringe Group” show get on air.
My Score: 11 Districts out of 12
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