Terrific beginning, terrible denouement

Rating: 6/10 (5 August 2012)

Let me begin by confessing I haven't read the books by Ms. Collins. So I can't comment upon the faithfulness shown to the work by Gary Ross, the director. However, as the script writers included Ms. Collins herself, I can assume that the movie is a fair resemblance of the book. I have been intrigued by the trailers of the Hunger Games for the past 5 months. I have read and seen Stephen King's the Running man and read the Long Walk which are also post apocalyptic books about the fascination of the Americans with deadly games. Here, the US is Panem. There was an uprising by the 12 "districts" and as an act of repentance, one young man and a woman from every district has to go and participate annually in the Hunger Games. 24 people go, one comes back. The first half is sensational. The buildup is laced with truly great moments showing the tense selection process for the Games (called the Reaping), the training, and the hunt for sponsors by the participants and then trying to woo the crowd either by their stylish entries or by their swashbuckling interviews. It is in the "Games" themselves that the movie falters. The violence is minimal which was, I believe, done for the PG rating. But that takes away the greatest element of surprise from the movie as you see the protagonist not even breaking a sweat for the victory. There is no character development for any of the other participants except the protagonists. The acting is generally competent but a bit wooden in places. Donald Sutherland as the President of the republic stands out in his chilly act. Woody Harrelson is wasted as the drunken mentor. The direction in the first half is very good as it is backed by very strong screenplay. However, if only the director had decided to take a few leaves from the director of "Battle Royale" on which this seemed to be loosely based for the action scenes, this would have been a total winner. This is a tale of two halves. For the first half, I give 4/5. For the second my rating is 2/5.