Sunday, March 25, 2012

Movie Review: "The Hunger Games"


May the box office returns be ever in your favor.

Now that this movie has raked in the astounding figure of $155 million over opening weekend, I'd say that the odds really are in its favor.  Set in a dystopian future, this story of a young woman fighting for survival against a tyrannical government that endorses the killing of teenagers for sport in a sick annual reality TV show does leave you hungry ... for more.  Jennifer Lawrence (most recently seen as young Mystique in X-Men: First Class) as 16-year-old protagonist Katniss Everdeen turns in what just might be (and should be) a spirited, star-making performance in this film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel.  (Thank goodness, this is the un-Twilight!)

I'll try to return and write a more detailed review about ideas and themes in this film (of which there are some fabulous ones), but for right now I have school work to panic about!

Mad Minerva gives this film a grade of A-.  While I thought most of the supporting cast was quite interesting (Lenny Kravitz?!  yet it worked), I counted off for the headache-inducing amount of shaky cam (and, for the record, I hate shaky cam!) that obscured the action more than it enhanced it.  I also wasn't unimpressed by the casting of Prim Everdeen and also by some groan-inducing dialogue.  Also, at almost 2.5 hours long, this movie is a bit too long and could have had a more polished start and set-up.

Rotten Tomatoes gives The Hunger Games the undeniably Fresh rating of 86%.

The official website is here.

The Hunger Games runs 142 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.

The trailer:

No comments: