One for the arrow

Rating: 6/10 (21 June 2014)

An adaptation of a book that is popular with teenagers and my daughter pestering me to take her to the cinema to watch the movie. Its Twilight all over again I thought.
However The Hunger Games features youngsters in a dystopian future where in the name of peace an annual event is held where selected kids between the ages of 12 to 18 years of age have to fight to the death until the last one standing is declared the victor.
Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss who takes the place of her younger sister. Woody Harrelson is the former winner from her sector who teaches her and the male participant from the same sector, Peeta. Harrelson seems not to care and is a drunk but as the film goes on shows perceptive insights as he lobbies on behalf of both the participants as well as training them on how to survive.
The film is a mish mash of various themed films such as Battle Royale, Rollerball, The Running Man, Westworld, The Truman Show.
Its entertaining but in a daft way. The young actors give it their all, Lawrence shows why she is one of the best young actors out there. However what kind of society which televises this tribute called The Hunger Games thinks its fair that a 12 year old can go up against a 18 year old? Never mind that the viewing public has such a blood lust to watch televised murder on screen when its clear during the selection process that the public are not happy that their children could be selected to participate in the games.
The film is also overlong, it is sanitized enough to keep its teen audience happy without the violence being too visceral. Its surprisingly enjoyable but adults are likely to be more discerning than a younger audience.