Movie Review: The Hunger Games

Without shame, I am willing to admit that yes, I went to see a midnight screening of The Hunger Games. And yes, I am just now home after the screening and writing about it because it deserves the time I’d usually use to fall back asleep for me to talk about The Hunger Games. In short, The Hunger Games movie (and franchise) is a big deal.

If you’ve been living under a rock, I’ll quickly recap The Hunger Games and leave you with a spoiler warning: The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. The film’s main focus is Katniss Everdeen, a girl who volunteered in place of her younger sister who is mentored by a drunk and is forced with a lot of life-changing decisions in The Hunger Games playing field. And now, you have been warned. Reading further will bring you some light spoiler-age.

One of the biggest concerns of a film based on a book, is how well a book’s story can be adapted into film. Save for the Mockingjay pin story, I found that The Hunger Games film was an excellent adaptation of the book. Naturally there are things that were left out from the book to make a 2 hour and 30 minutes-long movie, but whatever was left out or retold, was for good reason. Although the book is told in Katniss’ point of view, there are a handful of things in the film that relay what is going on in the outside world. Things that seemed random during the games are somewhat explained, especially with the introduction of Seneca Crane’s control room. If you ever read the book and thought to yourself, “Why did they do that?” You’ll find yourself watching the movie saying, “I see what they did there.” Aside from the control room, President Snow is in the film more than he is in the book for that purpose and to make the transition into the upcoming sequel a seamless one.

In addition to the control room, the film at times, was shot as if you’re in the Capitol watching The Hunger Games. Shots of commentators every now and then introduced things to an audience of people who probably weren’t aware of what a tracker jacker was or other random details about The Hunger Games. For those who’ve never read the books, the movie couldn’t have possibly felt awkward because the film forces you to watch as if you were a Capitol citizen.

Although I’ve read the book and was aware of what was supposed to happen in the movie, I was really impressed by the visuals, the sound effects and all of the action scenes — I found myself still on the edge of my seat despite already knowing what was to come. It also helps immensely that overall, the acting performance was superb. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know that there was a little room for cheesy romance depending on how the actors created the scene — there was nothing cheesy here.

Overall, The Hunger Games was a great movie and great to watch regardless of whether or not you’ve read the book.

For more information about The Hunger Games movie or theater times, head here.