Review - The Hunger Games

Grade: B

Yin: Uninspired action diminishes emotional weight of character building efforts. Plot is a little too familiar to older, more violent versions of this age-old tale.

Yang: Well-crafted with great attention to character building at the expense of world building and spectacle--which is both a good and bad thing. Unsurprisingly Strong performances by Lawrence, Hutcherson, Harrelson, and Kravitz.

In-Between: From the looks of the citizens in the Capitol, it looks like the Joker finally won the day. Good job, Bats.

Barnum promised the world that a sucker’s born every minute. The thing about those suckers is that they don’t become a problem until they get old enough to influence culture on a mass scale.

I’ll admit I’m coming into to the Hunger Games phenomenon completely blind, but I read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” when I was in middle school. By the time I was in 9th grade, I had read Richard Connell’s “Most Dangerous Game”. A few years out of high school, I read Koushun Takami’s manga Battle Royale and saw the first live action film.

Suffice to say, very little about Gary Ross’ well-crafted adaptation of the first book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy is very original, but to tweens who have not even seen an edited cut of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s The Condemned, it’s probably a revelation. But, since when has originality ever been a prerequisite for quality?

Hunger Games tells the tale of a post-apocalyptic world where the cast of Cirque Du Soleil has subjugated 12 regions, known as Districts, in the landmass once known as North America after quelling some vague human rights rebellion. As punishment for demanding basic human and civil rights, the Capitol, located in the heart of what was once Denver, requires each District to offer up one male and female between the ages of 12-18 as tribute, a participant in a survival of the fittest battle between lethal teens from each District known as the Hunger Games. To prevent her young sister from becoming tribute, skilled hunter and archer Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) of the Appalachian-esque District 12 volunteers to be tribute. Along with the male tribute for her district, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss is transported to the Capitol in preparation for the games, in which 23 tributes go home in boxes. Katniss and Peeta are prepped for the battle of their life by drunken former champion Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and compassionate stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Once the games begins, no amount of help can save Katniss and Peeta from facing overwhelming odds and almost certain death, as they try to bring a sliver of hope to their District.

Director Gary Ross has crafted a fairly austere adaptation of Collins’ novel. The film is possessed with an earthy quiet that is all but shattered when one of the clown-faced aristocrats from the Capitol invades the screen. Ross spends an almost detrimental amount of time building character and fostering our investment in these poor children who are being sacrificed for reasons far beyond their comprehension. In the moments of quiet, the characters all seem possessed with an unrelenting melancholy, and these are the moments where Ross’ direction truly shines. Beyond these moments, Ross drops fumbles a bit. The action is rarely thrilling or inspired, and any seasoned action movie aficionado will know every beat before it happens. However, thanks to Ross’ character building, the action scenes retain a baseline tension because Ross has worked overtime to make the audience care about characters, some of whom have only been briefly sketched.

The character work in Hunger Games is what really carries the film, and much of its success is due to the commendable work of Jennifer Lawrence and a fine supporting cast. Lawrence brings the stoic dignity that made her work in the similarly Appalachian-set Winter’s Bone so powerful. As Katniss, Lawrence is admirably principled and heroic despite doing only a few measurably heroic deeds without assistance, a problem which also plagued one Harry Potter. Josh Hutcherson has a bit more meat to his role as the neglected, conflicted Peeta, who is a far more interesting character to watch than everybody’s favorite archer. Hutcherson does well, but, just like his character, is unfortunately overshadowed by Lawrence’s more easily likable Katniss. Woody Harrleson plays up the roguish scamp angle as the obviously tormented Haymitch while Lenny Kravitz is one robe shy of his mystical negro badge as Cinna. Despite the predictability of their roles, both make amiable effort at making each character show signs of measurable depth and likability. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Banks, Wes Bentley, and Donald Sutherland fare less favorably as a clown-faced twit; pompous TV producer; and the slimy, heartless Big Bad, respectively.

Despite a few weak performances, Ross’ direction and the work of Lawrence and Hutcherson combine to make the Hunger Games more than the sum of its parts. As a rumination on the culture of youth, entertainment, and the sacrificial nature of both, Hunger Games has some merit, but it is hardly the revelatory take the marketers would have us believe. While Ross’ film goes a long way towards improving Hunger Games odds at cementing its place as a international phenomenon, any one old enough to have seen or read any of the prior versions of this age-told tale may be underwhelmed by the familiar plot, yet they could do far worse things with their time than giving the Hunger Games a chance.