The odds were in their favor

Rating: 8/10 (24 March 2012)

Set in either an alternate reality or a time perhaps not far from our own, the world is run by the dictatorial and futuristic Capitol, the rich and powerful(whose appearances border on the grotesque, with make-up, sharp colors and clothing choices) ruling over the twelve districts, from all of which, each year, two teenagers, one of each gender, must participate in the titular competition, these 2 dozen kids fighting to the death. This is both great as an adaptation of the book(which, for those who haven't read it, is pretty good, not brilliant), and as a movie(almost everything in this makes sense even if you haven't read it, you can enjoy this whether you're familiar with that or not). Going from a first person perspective written work to a visual medium requires decisions made; inner monologues that explain things are made into spoken lines, and they here show things that Katniss(Young Mystique Jennifer Lawrence, who is evidently sticking with her young, determined independent female disguise... to be fair, she wears it extremely well, so why mess with it), our lead, does not see or experience. This does mean breaking up staying with the wilderness, the hostile environment(that is not as deadly or dangerous in this as in the source material), once the Hunger Games begin. That, by the way, doesn't happen for about half of this(similar to the novel), giving room for development, plot and setup(the contest is massively built up, and it really pays off). The vital characters are present and matter; Caesar, you love from when you see him, Cato is vicious, Cinna is very sympathetic, etc. This has phenomenal acting, by pretty much everyone involved. Unlike his daughter(X-Men: First Class), Kravitz is convincing. With the talents of Wes Bentley(see? This is how you use him, not the emo crap in Ghost Rider) and Donald Sutherland, we have faces put to the totalitarianism behind it. It really gets to you, and arouses emotion. One bit could easily have been sappy, and instead, it is just rather tragic. This is quite well-edited and filmed nicely. One thing on that, however... and this is why I wouldn't label this an action flick(drama-thriller, more like)... those sequences, the fights and such, are disorienting, and they shouldn't be. Why is it chaotic when two people are wrestling? Shaky cam and close-ups, please, just... no. The wish-fulfillment is present(young girl who doesn't know how to be, just coming into her adolescence, suddenly adored, going from poverty to expensive, delicious food being thrown at her(and no weight gain!), love triangle(which they do disservice to) from her having no boyfriend...), if less obnoxious. FX are excellent. This works as a satire of reality television, and goes into different themes than Battle Royale(that's about growing up and going out into the merciless world, this is about brutality as entertainment) There is a little blood, violence and disturbing content in this, as much as they could fit in without losing the PG-13, and they choose the right times to put it in, so it's effective as can be. I recommend this to any fan of the franchise, and anyone intrigued by the concept. 8/10