A Thrilling, Dazzling, and Faithful Novel Adaptation

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2012)

Suzanne Collins's THE HUNGER GAMES is a very content-heavy novel, so naturally bringing it to the big screen would be a feat worth sweating over. While certain scenes were rushed and aspects from the book weren't developed as much as I would have liked, I was still completely captivated and loved the movie.
In terms of performances, everyone (and I mean everyone) knocks it out of the park. I will list the main roles, to save us all the reading time: Jennifer Lawrence carries her role as protagonist Katniss with grace, vulnerability, and fire (pun intended); Josh Hutcherson (someone who hadn't even crossed my mind to play Peeta, and, when cast, made me apprehensive) truly did Peeta justice, with spot-on facial expressions and a quiet ferocity; Liam Hemsworth played Gale wonderfully in the small number of scenes he had; Elizabeth Banks made Effie annoyingly likable (you want to hate her, for she is essentially an archetypal Capitol citizen, to say the least), plus everything I'd expected and more; Lenny Kravitz was fantastic as Cinna (the moment before launch into the arena is truly touching); and Donald Sutherland is wicked yet subtle as President Snow. I have to commend Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, too; his performance was honestly exactly how I'd imagined Haymitch, and one of my favorites.
As for the direction, I applaud Gary Ross; he truly knew what he was doing. The designs and atmospheres of each scene were impeccable, and further enhanced Collins's world. Granted, the pace felt a tad rushed at times, but it wasn't anything major enough to truly take away from anything. One of my major directorial complaints (though I understand it to an extent), was the camera work, especially near the beginning. It was almost nauseating. I do understand, however, that it was meant to mimic the intimacy between us audience members and Katniss, for the novel was written from her point of view. It does go on to (for the most part) level out, though certain scenes later in the film (during the Games, namely) practically require this sort of shooting style.
The violence was one of the major aspects of the book I was wondering how Gary would handle. For the most part, it is implied and shown only in bursts when necessary, though there are still disturbing scenes and moments, some, ironically, including no violence but truly highlighting just how violent this country actually is. Don't get me wrong, though--there is still an abundance of thrills and action.
All in all, THE HUNGER GAMES is a solid, thrilling, and dazzling film, one fans of the novel will likely enjoy and a truly telling spectacle concerning how far we're willing to go to be entertained.