Did Not Love it,Did Not Hate it

Rating: 6/10 (1 May 2012)

I didn't read the book and therefore had no idea what the movie was about. After reading a few reviews,I decided to give the movie a chance. Firstly,I found it much too long. For the first hour and a half,I felt like I was watching American Idol,or America/Canada's Got Talent. I could just see Ryan Seacrest up there as MC before the games began. It was so predictable at that point,even boring. Also,the people in this dystopia looked very weird and not believable. When the games started,I was getting very dizzy with the shaky camera work. I imagine this was to give it a PG rating so as not to show too realistically any of the teens killing each other. It was just touched upon,not that I would want to see too much violence either. When the Hunger Games were in full swing,I really kept thinking of the reality TV show,"Survivor." There were a few inane twists at the end but all in all,I never felt fully immersed in the movie.For the last hour,I kept looking at the time.This doesn't take away from the great performances by Jennifer Lawrence,Woody Harelsen,or Donald Sutherland. All in all,I wasn't moved by this movie. What were the reasons for the present state of affairs in the future North America.And show us some depth in the main characters. Forty years ago,in 1972,I saw a very intense movie about a future dystopia,"Soylent Green," with Charleton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. I have never forgotten it. We saw people starving,begging for food,etc. There was deep emotion and you could identify with the characters. This was not the case for me watching The Hunger Games. By tomorrow,I will have forgotten most of the movie. Wait for it on DVD is my advice or go on a day when rates are reduced.