JK Reviews: The Hunger Games

[Julianking93]

In film and story, it's hard to come by something that truly captures a sense of feeling or emotion. What's more is to experience one able to deliver such a feeling along with living up to a preconceived notion of extreme hype. For many The Hunger Games does just that, aiming at its target audience with a sci-fi setting for to call their own in the sea of film's history. For others, it's devoid of such emotion and only leaves a blanket of confusion for anyone attempting to introduce themselves to the series as the bestselling novel is brought to the screen in all its shaky cam'd glory.

Based on Suzanne Collins' book of the same name, The Hunger Games portrays a violent and dystopian society that invites the viewer to read as allegory for the present. What is presumably a former North America has been destroyed in a war not shown and what's left in its wake is a totalitarian "Capitol" using whatever means at their destructive disposal to keep its populace obedient. The public is drowned in a sea of bewildering celebrity and entertainment as the government stages televised events where 24 unlucky teenagers are picked from each of the twelve districts to fight to the death while one contestant dares to defy authority. Does this sound familiar? Because it bloody well should.

How'd Renee Zellweger get on set?​

The film follows Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) throughout her time training for and participating in the Hunger Games, the savage and brutal televised fight to the death. As she and her fellow citizens from each district are chosen as "tribute" to murder each other. It works in two parts; the former focusing on the ritualistic, barbaric yet neatly polished training and showcasing to get sponsors for their efforts in the games. While the latter depicts the brutal nature of the games themselves as the chosen tributes are forced to kill for survival.


This is by no means an original concept. Audiences familiar with or possessing some grasp on film history will recognise more than just trace elements of movies like The Running Man, Spartacus, the masterful work The Most Dangerous Game and most notably Battle Royale (a film and book writer Suzanne Collins vehemently denies even being aware of but that's a rage fueled topic for another time). But The Hunger Games was not written with seasoned film veterans in mind. It instead targets the younger crowds with only sparse knowledge of cinema. This works in some sense but does nothing but dissuade more experienced movie goers from this series.

The not-so-secret to The Hunger Game's massive amounts of success is how it uses these themes as a backdrop to a coming of age story in a repressive society. At least, I think that's what it was trying to say. Perhaps it's merely a cash in on the Twilight tween craze at the moment but at the very least I'd like to give the film more credit than that. My attempts at giving it some sort of merit is swiftly thwarted as it shamelessly takes these aforementioned elements and completely misses the point of their original context. Rather than using the characters as a well thought out support to the societal satire at hand, as many others have done before, it unintelligibly uses the premise instead to make a cheap blockbuster riding on the coattails of the novel's success. And while director Gary Ross does offer a vague attempt at providing a showbiz commentary with its campy MCs hosting the games themselves dressed like characters right out of the delightfully deranged mind of Lewis Carroll. His dimwitted direction, however only comes off as hackish as they're given such laughably obvious roles.

I wonder how long before the "Team Pee-niss" jokes catch on...​

Even the acting suffers from Ross's inept attempt at direction. Jennifer Lawrence has never been an actress I saw as anything other than bland or uninteresting and her performance as Cactus Evergreen (or whatever her name is) is no different here. There's no depth to the character and she brings nothing but a cliched face to the cast. The same is applicable to the supporting cast as well, especially Katniss's all too plainly forced love interest Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), even though Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks both seem to be loving their roles.

While I understand the difficulties of turning a book into a 2+ hour film, the lack of development for these characters is something that literally had me awestruck. How can anyone give a shit about characters we know nothing about? We are given no reason to root for them. They're all kids being forced to kill against their will and the few pathetic shots at presenting antagonists only come off as nothing short of contrived. They are assholes for the sake of being assholes. No reason is given. No explanation as they embrace the lifestyle they're forced to participate in so warmly.

What's more is even the primary character, who is presented and often regarded as a strong female lead, is nothing short of bland due to undercharacterisation. And this leads me to the film's biggest issue with its characters. The Hunger Games's fans all over cry out that Cat-tits is a brilliantly constructed character that represents the new wave of feminist attitudes that shouts "Fuck you!" at the face of authority.

Perhaps there was something lost in translation from book to film but this presence wasn't there in the slightest. To be blunt about it, she's a goddamn moron. Her supposed drive to rebel only came across as, not stemming from a natural sense to stand up for what is right but instead out of ignorance and stupidity. She never really seems to know the consequences of her actions against the Capitol or anyone in authority and coupled with her several instances of lashing out at people for no given reason only make her out to be a typical angsty teen. She's not a proud voice of justice and reason but an annoying brat who conveniently happens to be doing the right thing by being a ****.

I really wish she'd aim that at the cameraman.​

However, The Hunger Games' most offensive flaw is that it simply is too safe. It takes no chances with its source material. This could have gone down as one of the great films presenting a smart social commentary, even if it wasn't too terribly original. It has kids murdering other kids, for fuck's sake. 12 year olds are killed on screen and this is only PG-13? This has the making for a gripping, devastating tale of struggle and consequence or simply how terrible it would be to be forced to kill for your own survival.

Instead, we get a lackluster action film, using cheap shaky cam techniques to hide the gore and its strong subject matter bogged down for 13 year olds. Whatever good aspects here are hindered entirely by everything else. Possibly the only good thing about the entire cast is Woody Harrelson's role as a drunken mentor to the new players but yet again, his character is completely useless since there is virtually no development for anyone and this becomes an even more damning problem when the primary villain behind it all is barely acknowledged.


If my overall feelings on the film aren't yet clear, I'll sum it up quickly and as nicely as possible. The Hunger Games is one of the most amazingly bland films I've ever seen. There is nothing that makes it stand out other than it being incredibly average. The plot is handled ineptly. The camera work is sickening, using close ups and zoom ins when not necessary. It assumes the audience already knows the source material thus alienating anyone wanting to get into the series and treating characters with only enough information so the fans can cheer when they pop on screen for five seconds. But worst of all; it's just too goddamned safe. Where's the horror? Where's the tension? This is nothing but a fine example of lazy filmmaking at the peak of mediocrity.

As I've stated numerous times in previous reviews, hype is possibly the single most dangerous tool filmmakers and producers can use in their arsenal. It can be something used to heighten the assets of a film, garner attention and give it merit without presenting it in a cheap manner. Or it can be used solely for cashing in on a big name, leading its target audience to cream themselves in excitement without judging distinct elements of the medium itself. It is in this latter category where the highly anticipated adaption of The Hunger Games resides. A big budget splendor of self-indulgence, producing cheesy spectacles for fans of the series to ogle, devoid of any emotion or feeling while taking a grand total of zero chances. I come out unsure of what's worse; the fact that this boring, bland knock off mess will surely break box office records or that all around my screening, people rooted and cheered "Yes!" at the murder of kids.

LOL, fuck nuance​

Spoiler: Rating

[HEADING=1]One and a Half Stars[/HEADING]​

Spoiler: Other JK Reviews

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Music:
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Remember that I am now taking requests for reviews, so any suggestions for future reviews or lists you may have, please let me know via PM or in the replies to this review.

 

[Marter]

I think it's fair to say that we disagree. You and I won't agree on this one all that much, and I don't think we ever will.

So let's target something more productive: The review. I think this is one of the worst reviews of yours I've read, but only because it didn't appear to be proofread all that thoroughly. It's not like it's a bad review, but I kept being drawn out of it due to the numerous misplaced commas and apostrophes. It really hurt the flow for me, and it would have been simple to fix if someone had read it over.

Also, I've never liked the "let's switch up the main character's name over and over again 'cause it's silly" joke. Especially when one of the switcheroos you used ("Catnip") is actually used in the film. Doesn't work.

EDIT: Oh, and the second picture (the one with the "Zellweger" comment which I'll also disagree with), isn't showing up for me.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

Honestly, this is one of those movies where half the people I heard talking about it are telling me how great it is/is going be and the other half are telling me how sucky it is/or will be. It's gotten me to where I was avoiding hearing anything about it. So thanks for the review, it's help me decide not to waste my money.

Also, is it just me, or is her expression exactly the same in all the pictures in your review? She looks like a damn porcelain doll or something.

 

[Julianking93]

snippy

Fixed the picture, should be working now

But, dude... really?
Can't see the similarity?

Spoiler

None at all? Really bro? XD

As for the rest of your complaints, I read through the review again and... didn't really see anything wrong with it but maybe I'm blind to my own stuff. Or because I hated this and you liked it made you mad or vice versa. What evz, no big deal XP

Honestly, this is one of those movies where half the people I heard talking about it are telling me how great it is/is going be and the other half are telling me how sucky it is/or will be. It's gotten me to where I was avoiding hearing anything about it. So thanks for the review, it's help me decide not to waste my money.

Also, is it just me, or is her expression exactly the same in all the pictures in your review? She looks like a damn porcelain doll or something.

You're welcome! Glad to be of some help ^_^

And yes... yes she does. She has that expression throughout the entire film.

 

[Marter]

As for the rest of your complaints, I read through the review again and... didn't really see anything wrong with it but maybe I'm blind to my own stuff. Or because I hated this and you liked it made you mad or vice versa. What evz, no big deal XP

Well, let's just go with the first paragraph:

In film and story, it's hard to come by something that truly captures a sense of feeling or emotion. What's more is to experience one able to deliver such a feeling along with living up to a preconceived notion of extreme hype. For many, The Hunger Games does just that, aiming at its target audience with a sci-fi setting for to call their own in the sea of film's history. For other's, its devoid of such emotion and only leaves a blanket of confusion for anyone attempting to introduce themselves to the series as the bestselling novel is brought to the screen in all its shaky cam'd glory.

So two there.

What's more is even the primary character, whom is presented and often regarded as a strong female lead, is nothing short of bland due to undercharacterisation. And this leads me to the film's biggest issue with its characters. The Hunger Games's fans all over cry out that Cat-tits is a brilliantly constructed character that represents the new wave of feminist attitudes that shouts "Fuck you!" at the face of authority.

Just small things like that all over the review, if ya feel me.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Y'know, I actually thought it was a fairly poor translation of the source material myself, but I'm going to have to side with Marter here. Cat-tits? Seriously? Fucking Cat-tits? That is some shameful shit.

 

[Sassafrass]

You're welcome! Glad to be of some help ^_^

And yes... yes she does. She has that expression throughout the entire film.

So, she's the female Keanu Reeves?
Wonderful. XD

As for the review, it was a pretty good one. Couldn't spot any mistakes although Marter seems to have gotten to the majority of them. As for my opinion on the film, I'd tell you if I actually had one. Not watched it and I probably won't watch it either. I just like commenting on friends reviews.

 

[Nekosydow23]

Lol, this was funny. I pretty much agree on everything since I was dragged to see this. The books were okay but the film just sucked.
Oh and, unless Im completely retarded, I didn't notice any mistakes as being terribly off-putting or anything so good job! I had fun reading this and laughing at a shite movie's expense.


Also, to that other guy; I can't really tell if youre serious or if you're the reviewer's friend just making a joke or not but... chill, man, jeez. I thought that bit was funny. >_>