Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at ran... Read allKatniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 34 wins & 49 nominations total
- Hob Vendor
- (as Sandra Lafferty)
Summary
Featured reviews
It's easy to forget that way back in 2012 this was fresh and new, tonally dark cinema, aiming for the teenage demographic. Perhaps that's a large reason for the success of the franchise, it was new and interesting, everything since has just been a rehash, located in a different world.
Refreshingly dark and mature, visually graphic, The Hunger Games has a lot going for it, as a visual spectacle, not so much as an immersive and compelling story. Narratively it meanders, without intent, there's a station to arrive at but not the train track to get there. Tonally gloomy at times, balance is hard to find. Switches in mood make the texture of the atmosphere uneven, because changes are jarring and misplaced. The edit failed to maximise the potential seeping throughout. Scenes are drawn out and end on odd notes, something that could've been tightened up in post-production. Additionally more cuts to and through between the Games and the world at present would've helped to increase tension while the story pondered, the scale and public reaction isn't documented anywhere near enough, if at all. Personally I feel the editing really trips this film up, it's quite easily 10-15 minutes too long, feeling even longer due to the fact of how much sitting around there is.
Stretched so far it's see through, the ending is blatant from the get go, meaning there's not much to keep you interested after the half hour mark.
Gary Ross shows wonderful craft and delicacy when concerning the dark themes of oppressed society, life without choice and just how bleak living in a dictatorship is. In the first act he manages to craft a tone and atmosphere that reeks of desperation, fear, the empty void of hopelessness and life without control. Yet he lifts the mood with the slightest and smallest of scenes between Kat and Gale, serving as a reminder of humanity's ability to dream and aspire for a better world. Each shot set in District 12 is delightful, sombre chills run through every vein as you are enraptured in fear and anxiety. The build up to and throughout the reaping is tense and nauseating, interactions with Kat and her sister are filmed so preciously. Sound is well utilised through the overdrawn run-time, music is allowed to overrun and dominate, drowning out the world perfectly and symbolically. An example that comes to mind concerning the sound is when Kat offers herself up, her screaming juxtaposed against the silence sets her out from the rest, nailing her on as the protagonist we will all route for. Selfless.
This was Jennifer Lawrence's big break in the public eye, she left a good impression. Portrayed with care, Katniss is delicately played when is necessary but can easily surge with passion when needed. Reminiscent of an indie film portrayal, Jennifer showcases her range and hits all the marks, and you, in all the right places.
Hunger Games starts off brilliantly, it's exhilarating and tense, filled with subtlety. Has a terrific lead performance that powers you through. It's weighed down by an underwhelming narrative, that's evened out with an enjoyable character arc. Sadly it gets wrapped up in it itself, losing its awareness of how sick a situation this is, and rather than point it out, chooses to accept the societal issues, it so cleverly addressed in the beginning. We then drift and chunder toward the inevitable ending.
Nevertheless I'd quite happily re-watch the first act, but would have no qualms with skipping the rest.
It's a solid piece of film-making.
On the upside: Great performance by the main characters, excellent visuals and well directed.
On the downside: The book gives a lot of context as to how the characters feel and how things have come to be the way they are. The movie changes a number of things to make it at all possible to show the story and for me the choices made took down the quality of the story a bit. To give at least some context, it took the movie a while to get really started and even despite that, some of the characters, again in my opinion, didn't really develop in depth the way they should.
Long story short, I liked the movie and thought it was a nice adaptation from the book, but it lacked a bit the intensity from the book.
I could go on about the particulars of the adaptation -- the ridiculousness of the entire Capital setting, or the sometimes disorienting shakycam work, or the great cast of adults patiently playing supporting characters -- or the source material -- the gestures at social commentary, the way that the story protects Katniss from ever having to morally sully herself -- but they all seem to be beside the point. Look. The movie has the things that happened in the book, but in a movie, competently shot and acted, with absolutely no risks taken. If you liked the book, or want to learn what this whole Hunger Games thing is about without having to read the book, you'll probably like this. It's a digestible film, even an enjoyable one, but in the end it's not really interesting or memorable. But to be fair, it wasn't meant to be.
The heart of the story is intact, unfortunately there are many significant elements from the novel entirely missing, or changed to the point they lose the depth of meaning they were intended to have. Unlike some of the sub-plot and story elements left out of the Potter and LOTR series, these missing and adulterated items matter greatly, and lessen the quality of the movie. I will give the producers credit for building Seneca Crane's role in an effective way that answers many questions for those that have not read the books.
Finally - production values. You will suffer significant eyestrain after 2.5 hours of glaring close-ups. All of the action is shot so close and is so muddled it is almost impossible to determine what is happening. The chariot display is shown either to close or too far away, and in both cases so fast that the impact of the glorious entrance and introduction of the tributes is lost. The CG shots (thankfully there are few of them) look like leftovers from a Syfy channel production. This may be the worst big-budget production to hit the big screen in years. Although Ross worked well with the actors, he did not handle the action epic elements well at all. The cinematography is atrocious and the whole production looks cheap.
You will enjoy the movie, but you will also wish for the grand and respectful care-taking that was given the Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises.
Did you know
- TriviaThere was a swear jar on the set. Co-writer and director Gary Ross said half of it was contributed by Jennifer Lawrence.
- Goofs(at around 16 mins) After Katniss volunteers for Prim, it shows the crowd putting three fingers over their lips and kissing it as a sign of respect. You can clearly see a man in the crowd wearing black with a camera. This is often mistaken as a goof but remember that the 'Reaping' is being televised across Panem.
- Quotes
Caesar Flickerman: So, Peeta, tell me, is there a special girl back home?
Peeta Mellark: No. No, not really.
Caesar Flickerman: No? I don't believe it for a second. Look at that face. Handsome man like you. Peeta... tell me.
Peeta Mellark: Well, there, uh... there is this one girl that I've had a crush on forever.
Caesar Flickerman: Ah.
Peeta Mellark: But I don't think she actually recognized me until the Reaping.
Caesar Flickerman: Well, I'll tell you what, Peeta. You go out there, and you win this thing, and when you get home, she'll have to go out with you. Right, folks?
Peeta Mellark: Thanks, but I, uh, I don't think winning's gonna help me at all.
Caesar Flickerman: And why not?
Peeta Mellark: Because she came here with me.
- Crazy creditsThe film opens with a worded passage about the history of the Hunger Games. In the last section, all of the text fades away except for the film's title.
- Alternate versionsA rough cut of the film was submitted to the BBFC in the UK for an advisory screening, a process used by filmmakers to see how likely a film will obtain a certain rating. The BBFC explained a 12A rating would be likely if the violence was toned down. Four scenes were changes, removing bloody violence, threat and a scene of injury. These included the use of alternate footage and the digital removal of blood. When the finished film was submitted to the BBFC for a formal classification, the BBFC stated that more cuts would be needed in order to secure the 12A. Blood splashes were digitally removed from both impacts to bodies and blood on blades of weapons, achieved through the darkening of certain shots and by digitally erasing blood from the image. The BBFC then gave the film a 12A rating for cinema release. This pre-cut version was released on DVD in the UK with a 12 rating. However, the US PG-13 version was submitted to the BBFC for the UK Blu-ray release, which was classified '15' uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Side by Side (2012)
- SoundtracksDeep in the Meadow
(Lullaby)
Lyrics by Suzanne Collins
Music by T Bone Burnett and Simone Burnette
Performed by Jennifer Lawrence and Willow Shields
- How long is The Hunger Games?Powered by Alexa
- Where are the other continents
- Wasnt Katniss supposed to be the first winner of District 12
- What is "The Hunger Games" about?
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Los juegos del hambre
- Filming locations
- Shelby, North Carolina, USA(District 12 reaping ceremony)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $78,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $408,010,692
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $152,535,747
- Mar 25, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $695,220,619
- Runtime2 hours 22 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1