The Hunger Games

• Directed by Gary Ross
• March 12, 2012 (Peacock Theater) / March 23, 2012 (US)
• Based on the 2008 novel of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Children selected from the 12 Districts of the nation of Panem are forced to compete in the deadly Hunger Games.

As an adaptation of young adult fiction, The Hunger Games and its successors set a standard of quality that imitators have failed to equal. The environment they create is not just an excuse for cool stuff to happen but rather there is substance mixed in with the presented fiction. The story touches on manipulation of public perceptions and how politicians can often pit people against people in order maintain control and even how much of what we get as information is merely an illusion meant to entertain the masses.

The titular Hunger Games are an extreme version of pitting sides against each other when the real threat is those in office. This is nothing but bread and circuses in the guise of a reality show. It makes nothing ultimately better and is all about preventing a rebellion similar to the one that spawned the Hunger Games.

Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) ultimate public image is in contradiction with who she really is. She must put on a façade and pretend in order to win sponsors and truly succeed at the Hunger Games. She is demonstrated as someone not very likable and must tailor her personality. Katniss is a strong character. This is not because others around her are made inferior to make her LOOK strong. Rather those around her are her equals (for better or worse). She is strong because she steps up to the challenge and succeeds while remaining true to herself.

Katniss is paired with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) who understands the reality of the games better than Katniss but knows he lacks any of the skills which will allow him to survive. It seems his character at first is focused more on using this opportunity to fulfill his crush on Katniss. While he does try to survive on more than a few occasions he puts himself in a position to be Katniss’s guardian angel.

If there is a villain to be found in this it is President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) who is the leader of Panem. While he certainly embraces the Games as a means of order and sees the issues Katniss and her growing popularity creates, he is really just implementing the system as any bureaucrat might. The villain is the system and the problem is how it treats those most affected by it.

One thing the narrative highlights is how one simple action can lead to revolution by governments that don’t quite get it. The government of Panem has gotten complacent in its power. They have taken far too much authority without taking into consideration the people. Katniss becomes a symbol for revolution by simply acknowledging the death of one of her competitors. Previously she endeared herself to the public but only so far as a personality on a TV show. She managed to transcend that into a political figure whether she wanted it or not.

The story plays on a general distrust of the government and a sense of powerlessness by the people to do anything about the situation mixed in with the bread and circuses of pitting the regions against one another. You can even see a class divide between the people and the leadership that lives disconnected from the rest of the country.

It is my understanding that the young characters in the film are older than they are in the book. I’m not sure why. This whole story is meant to be disturbing and unnerving. I think it would’ve had much more impact if they had kept the characters younger. This movie clearly has a point and that point is blunted by elevating the age of the characters. Maybe they thought people couldn’t handle younger children doing very adult things in order to survive. I guess that would’ve made the scene at the cornucopia rather horrific. Imagine a whole bunch of kids barely out of elementary school slaughtering each other for some trinkets in order to survive.

There is just enough done in the way of a effects to immerse you in the fiction they are creating. They aren’t there for grand visuals or cool scenes. They are to let you know an aircraft is overhead or the characters have entered the capital city for example. While some have aged better than others, nothing looks so poor even at this stage that you get taken out. Gary Ross didn’t rely on effects to tell or move along the story. Rather he relied on great performances by the cast. All were talented performers.

While Ross and company do generally create a very believable environment the one thing that consistently bothers me is Katniss’s jacket. District 12 looks like the most rural of rural areas that is suffering from poverty and starvation, yet she is the ONLY ONE zipping about in a nice leather jacket. It just really stands out to me in a poverty-stricken area.

Despite being intended to kick off a film series there are no massive plot threads left dangling by the end of The Hunger Games. At least nothing that you couldn’t cover with head canon. I like that. That is not done nearly enough anymore. Every studio assumes they’re getting a sequel. Not here though. They left enough to build on but nothing that if this had been the only film that the viewer would have felt only part of the story was presented.

The Hunger Games is a great film and a fantastic start to the series. It touches (but does not deeply explore) numerous things and leaves you wanting more of the story it has to tell. A must see!