Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The Hunger Games (2012)



Based on a novel by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (2012) came out under wide critical acclaim and getting big numbers at the box office, reasons that alone make any viewer - at least - be curious about the film. Way before that - even when I was completely oblivious to the fact that is was adapted from a book - I came across the first trailer and thought to myself: "this is going to suck". Why? Because I felt it was too much of a rip-off. The similarities between The Hunger Games storyline and Battle Royale were of gigantic proportions. Nonetheless, after everyone started to rave about the book and the movie adaptation, my expectations then shifted entirely.

So what can I say about The Hunger Games? Well, credit most be given to the author, who even after  drawing lot of inspiration (#plagiarism) from the Japanese action masterpiece, was able to give it a nice, smart twist, approaching various themes and doing it so always leaving dots to connect.

One of the most interesting topics lies on Reality TV and what goes on the backstage/behind-the-scene. You get a overview of what needs to be done to set to turn the wheels of this big marketing machine that lives off ratings and consumption. I guess, most people have an idea of how the system works, but just prefer to close their eyes for the sake of entertainment. What ticks me off, is the fact that most people just act like what's taking place is completely genuine, without a hint of manipulation. The viewer easily believes that are witnessing "history" (corny, dull, cheesy history) in the making.
It's almost like watching Robert Redford's Quiz Show (1994) mixed with American Idol and - again - Battle Royale.

As for the talented cast, my biggest compliments go towards Jennifer Lawrence. It's not by chance that she is becoming one of Hollywood's most in demand actresses. She has great talent as Winter's Bone (2010) - her breakthrough performance - easily shows that.

It's not a movie that will leave you talking about it for a long time... but it sure is well crafted and quite entertaining... and it's good enough to keep you waiting for the next two sequels to see how the story will come to an end.



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