Just OK

Rating: 5/10 (21 March 2012)

I saw this at a preview screening and having never read the books I was unaware what all the fuss is about. Now having just seen the film, I am still unaware what all the fuss is about..
The central story concerns a future society where 12 areas (or Districts) have been locked down under police guard and wire fences, after they have held a rebellion against the state at some point. In punishment for this rebellion and for rising up against said state; they have to provide 2 kids between 12-18 (tributes) each year to fight in 'The Hunger Games' -a no holds-barred death match tournament, in which there can be only one winner.
This is televised round the world and can be manipulated depending on how the action is heating up and who the audience's favourites are (similar to a certain Arnie movie). We follow a girl / woman from District 12, who volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the tournament, after she had been selected and didn't want to go. She travels to the capital with another boy from the district and there they begin extensive training ready for the games to begin. I won't go into any more detail without wishing to spoil the other parts of the story but once the tournament starts - there begins a love story, various double crossing and in a brilliant stand-out scene; a hilarious disguise that even Andy Mcnab or Bear Grylls in their special forces days would not have been able conjure up..
The acting is OK, but the dialogue seems pretty trite and the future-scape and costumes, look like someone has just watched a combination of Equilibrium and the 5th Element over and over and over and over again (Having not read the book I don't know whether these costumes were accurate to that?). The main issue is that the violence is fairly none existent due to the intended teenage audience, therefore surely losing any power about the wrongs of such a tournament? If you're trying to make a point about violence being glorified in the media or a tournament, to water it down or even worse allow the viewer to 'escape' this horror just seems pointless.
The kids are all good looking and clean cut, some of whom are slightly annoying but are given no back-story in the film. So aside from our two heroes you really don't have any vested interest in seeing them survive and obviously because you don't really see any of them die it just doesn't seem that meaningful and they appear to just be making up the numbers.
Overall we all know it's going to make loads of money because there is a die-hard faithful chomping at the bit to see it...but I just didn't get it.
It's a very good looking but ultimately fairly empty film. I won't go down the Battle Royale route but obviously they are incredible similar, so make up your own mind about whether this has been 'influenced' by that.. but I do feel this has been done better and on a lower budget before.
5/10