Hunger Games: a review

This is pretty late, but better late than never. So here we are: “The Hunger Games” adapted from a bestselling novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. The Book became a huge hit, much like two other popular Franchises which it often compared to, “Harry Potter” and “Twilight Saga”. So is it up for a comparison?

No. Again, just like “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” there is no point to compare the three, because they’re three separate thing. Each has their own merits, and their own shortcomings.

Unlike the two big franchises mentioned above (one I love, and one I feel nothing towards) I didn’t came to the cinema, with informations from the book’s pages etched in my mind. 

The Film tells the story of Katniss Everdeen a young girl who lives in the lower class district of Panem in a world torn apart by war. The ruling class held a survival game called The Hunger Games annually where 24 kids (male and female) between the age of 12-20 fight to the death, leaving only one victor. These kids names are drawn from a bowl so, if you’re unlucky, you’ll get picked.

Katniss’s younger sister, Prim is picked and being a good older sister, Katniss volunteered to participate in her sister’s stead. (To be honest, it’s a bit unfair pitting 12 year olds against 18 and 19 year olds don’t you think?)

Soon after, we are introduced to the character Peeta, a boy from Katniss’s district who also has a crush on her (hence the cringeworthy romance in the middle of Act 2). After they arrive in Panem and all the setups and expositions are out of the way, we enter the game and it is presented in an appropriately brutal way (which is what we all want). 

In its core, the film has a very strong political undertones that brings to mind ‘V for Vendetta’. Director Gary Ross has done a wonderful job at crafting the gritty world of Panem (lots of shaky cams here) it is a shame that he leaves the franchise, let’s just hope that ‘I Am Legend’ director Francis Lawrence could live up to the standard set by Ross in this film. 

It’s a really good film, dramatic, funny, entertaining. For a film with March release date, this film has really exceed expectations.

3.5/5