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The Hunger Games

Fresh from the Capitol and pages of Suzanne Collins is the 74th annual Hunger Games! Katniss Everdeen, our leading heroine lives in the twelfth district of those that surround and make up the nation of Panem and has to deal with the hardships of poverty in her district hunting with her best friend Gale Hawthorne for food to survive while those in the Capitol live in luxury. 74 years ago when the districts tried to rebel against the tyrannical Capitol and lost, the Hunger Games came into existence as a means of punishment. Now every year two children from the ages 12 - 18, one boy and one girl, are picked out from each district to fight amongst one another to the death in the arena as both a punishment for the districts and entertainment for the Capitol. When Katniss' sister Prim is selected for their district she frantically volunteers in her sister's place to face the games alongside the local baker's son Peeta Mellark. Soon Katniss finds herself preparing to survive against whatever the Capitol and 23 other teens have to throw at her knowing her only pillars of support are a drunk mentor named Haymitch Abernathy, a boy she will have to kill and her family and friends far away beyond the arena and the games. Katniss means to survive no matter what, but so does everyone else in the Hunger Games...

Jennifer Lawrence yet again brings her character to life spectacularly this time however she's not only bringing forward a character from a script, she manages to pull together all the fans expectations of a strong feminine heroine from what they'd already read in the books and add as much heart and emotion as the story tries to convey if not more. While not shining as bright (Come on he's co starring with Jennifer Lawrence!) Josh Hutcherson takes to the role of Peeta Mellark, then again this guy isn't meant to shine, he brings the human and emotional quality to Katniss' character. Just like in the books Peeta is all about the heart and refusal to lay down and die yet still hating the very idea of the games themselves, Josh Hutcherson does a great job in bringing the lover-not-a-fighter to the screen and making the audience relate just as much as they did to the pages. Making the trio of the central young ruffians is Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, though he only has a handful of scenes throughout the film, Hemsworth manages to throw all the qualities of Gale's role into the film (While presumably setting up his role in the continuing films). The amazing Woody Harlesson plays the drunken and tormented mentor Haymitch Abernathy, so wonderfully comfortably you'd think your nan knitted him for the role alone, but seriously another character brought perfectly to the screen.
While you have the central players you also have the other stand out performances from the likes of Lenny Kravitz as head stylist and friend to all Cinna, the ever time conscious and glamorous Effy Trinket played by an almost unrecognizable Elizabeth Banks. Then you have the still equally amazing villains, only briefly mentioned in the second book of the series game keeper Seneca Crane played by Wes Bentley ensures he has a purpose and gives a well rounded view of what goes on behind the shady screens of the capitol, though the man the rebels love to hate and the stand out man pulling the strings Donald Sutherland brings
President Snow menacingly (and quite brilliantly at that) to the masses.

The fan base on a whole has pushed the Hunger Games to heights of dizzying popularity it's hard to imagine that someone out there might be unaware of the series, while others are just glad everyone has stopped harping on about twilight. Comparing the two is unfair, the Hunger Games is a dramatic tale of despair, rebellion and fighting for survival, so what if it isn't 100% original? Not many films if any can claim that nowadays, while some compare the Hunger Games to Battle Royale miss the fact that the two favor different markets and both are amazingly well done in their own respective ways. Though Some could say in its shortcomings that the Hunger Games focus is on character development too much where sometimes it isn't needed and because of it the game itself isn't given as much time to play forward and push out all the stops or in the ways that certain aspects aren't explained clearly enough and many people could still question a number of things in the universe, heck they can just wait for the inevitable sequel I suppose. Like many adaptions the book does out do the film, but at the same time it's rare that someone let's that factor tear away from the film, it may not have some elements shown in the pages but others are played to greater strengths. Ideas and the power of the media, it's place in controlling the districts, the ghastly fashion of the capitol brought to horrifying life and the berries of rebellion (See what I did there?). The brilliance of almost every cast member bring the Hunger Games to life and yet while some bits may tend to be slow in pace the majority of the film is a kicker bringing audiences in droves to see Katniss battle it out in the arena, this has something to offer for everyone and is a recommended trip out to the flicks. If in doubt why not see if it for Jennifer Lawrence?

8  /  10

FIN.

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