Dare I say...better then the book?

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2012)

I know this might be a knee jerk reaction but...The Hunger Games is my new favorite film of the decade! And I believe that's saying quite a bit considering this young decade has already provided us with films such as Inception, Black Swan, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Artist, and of course the 2 Part Harry Potter finale!
Honestly, this film was fantastic. Incredible cast (Jennifer Lawrence has such amazing range and beauty), hard hitting emotion, and some really great adaptation choices. It's such a skillful adaptation of the novel's story of sacrifice and survival and does a fine job of retaining the novel's themes and satirical statements against violence, reality TV, etc while at the same time providing entertainment and genuine emotional impact. Oh how I wish all films were like this.
All that being said, the film is not completely free of flaws (frankly I have yet to see a film that is though) however and there were times when I wanted to strangle either the director or cinematographer. The much discussed shaky cam is completely inappropriate at times (like before the games start) though quite effective at others. Also on the visual side of things, for a film that is going to rake in so much dough, some of the special effects could have been better. Oh, and yes, of course some things in the novel were left out but I think the film would have dragged if they had focused too much on life in the districts and not condensed the games a bit. On the other hand, as I said there was some really great adaptation decisions which fleshed out the novel in certain ways and made the film work even though it wasn't all first person POV like the novel. Also quite frankly I think a lot of scenes play out better on screen then they read, so I think the film is more then deserving of Best Adapted Screenplay consideration and maybe even Best Picture. Other award consideration should go to Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actress, Woody Harrelson for Best Supporting Actor, and James Newton Howard for Best Original Score. Possibly Art Direction and Costumes as well. All I've got left to say is after this year's fiasco of virtually ignoring the fantastic final chapter of the Harry Potter saga, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences better take notice of this one; this is blockbuster film-making at its finest!
For a richer experience you'll probably want to have read the novel though!