The better Legolas

Rating: 7/10 (3 June 2019)

The Hunger Games takes place in what was once North America. Their Capital city of Panem maintains it's so called peace and security by forcing it's 12 districts to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Every person living in Panem must watch as the selected tributes fight to the death until only one remains. The winner of the games receives eternal freedom from the games and a life of luxury. However, the winner must become a mentor to the tributes selected from their district. District 12 Tribute, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) struggles to survive in her poverty filled district. She relies on her hunting skills and sharp instincts to survive. When Katniss' sister Prim is selected to be a tribute, Katniss eagerly volunteers and takes her sister's place. A childhood friend from her past, Peeta Mellark, is selected as the male tribute. Katniss embarks on an unreal journey in preparation for the games. Katniss learns to fight for survival based on her superior skills with a bow and arrow and her animal- like instincts. While in the arena, she must weigh survival against love. I admire how the director of this movie was able to include most every detail from the book. It was very easy to follow and understand even for someone who had not previously read the book. The director's choice that stood out to me the most was the scene with the tracker jackers. Katniss knocks down a hive full of venomous tracker jacker bees and as Katniss is stung, the effect that the bees venom has on her is shown through through the film. The scene is shot through Katniss' eyes and you are able to see her blurry vision and the way she is struggling to move. You can hear the sound of the tracker jackers buzzing like they are in your ears. It is a very life-like scene and puts you in the position to see what it would be like to be stung by a tracker jacker. That effect is something that the movie could give the book couldn't.
Although this movie was a good interpretation of the book by Suzanne Collins, I thought that it seemed a bit rushed. There were many details that the movie missed that would have been helpful to aid in the overall understanding of the story. For someone who did not read the both before watching the movie, I'm sure they would've had some unanswered questions and been confused a few times. I do not necessarily think the movie should have been longer, but I think they could've shifted the amount of time they spent on certain parts in order to add extra details that they missed.
However, I appreciated the sound track and it fit the movie extremely well. It helped add to the suspenseful scenes and make the exciting ones that much more. The music also pulled at the audiences emotions.
Overall, the movie was an excellent coverage of the book and the the story itself. I would have liked to add some of the missing things from the book if time permitted but all in all a great film.