The odds are in favour of the first must-see film of the year

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2012)

After months of endless hype and speculation, The Hunger Games are finally upon us. With fan anticipation running high, I managed to check out the Canadian premiere of the film a few days early. And I must say, I came out significantly more impressed than I ever imagined.
Set in an unspecified future, one boy and one girl are randomly selected as tributes from each of the "Districts" that make up the country known as Panem to take part in The Hunger Games – a televised battle to the death. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) of District 12 volunteers in place of her younger sister to take part in the games. But survival will not come easy, especially when she faces 23 other individuals.
I will confess, I initially thought The Hunger Games would be nothing more than a dolled up, Americanized version of the absolutely brilliant Battle Royale. Thankfully, it was everything but that. For Gary Ross has helped create a film that goes above and beyond a simple adaptation. This is a living, breathing, full blown phenomenon just waiting to break out. He hits the ground running after a brief explanation of the titular games, and makes the film more and more interesting as it trucks along. I hate that I will compare this film to Harry Potter and Twilight so often, but it does so much right that the first films in these franchises did wrong that you begin to wonder whether it is because of the source material, or because they just found the right filmmaker from the on-set to bring this epic story to life.
Lawrence, an Oscar-nominee for Winter's Bone, proves her worth and undeniable talent as Katniss. She carries the film on her shoulders from the moment she enters the frame, and never looks back. You feel every breath, every tear, every ounce of struggle she goes through. We already knew she was an exceptional talent before, now we know she is a star and this was the role she was born to play. She is very in tune with this character, and never wavers; staying strong from beginning to end. While the young cast of Harry Potter and Twilight took 2-3 films to really find themselves, Lawrence already knows who this character is and how to play it. Granted she stays focused through the next two films, this could go down as one of the best character portrayals in film history. Whether she is on her own or interacting with the rest of the cast, you simply cannot take your eyes off her.
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, the other half of District 12, does a fairly good job supporting Lawrence. There is a lot left unsaid about his character (although significantly more than Liam Hemsworth's Gale, who spends all too much of his screen time brooding and looking longingly into the distance), but he is more than up to the task of showing off the skills he has been praying would make him a star for the better part of the decade. He does a lot of the emotional lifting in the film, giving his best work to date. He even helps make the more love-centric aspects of the story not feel nearly as dragged out as they seem to be.
While the young leads are all great, I found myself most fascinated by the supporting cast of adult character actors like Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, and especially Stanley Tucci. All of them are sadly underused, but are all incredible additions when they do pop on screen. I just wish it was more often.
But what holds The Hunger Games back from perfection is its distinct lack of flavor or personality. The film moves at a wildly chaotic pace, barely slowing down for character or story development. It just moves from beat to beat, to the point where you can sense the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. And in this chaos, you never get a sense of what style Ross wants to infuse the film with. It has all the elements it needs to be a dystopian masterpiece or even a poignant and subtle social satire (ideas I already know will be developed in the future films), but it never quite gels together the way it should. It thrills you, but at the same time leaves you incredibly empty. I am not sure if this is how the book reads, or even if this was Ross' intention. Is he holding back on purpose, or is someone pulling strings to make sure the film does not truly become its own thing?
I feel like I may be getting to the point of nitpicking (I will leave out my reservations about how shoddy some of the shots involving fire looked), but days later, I still feel like the film is missing that one crucial element that separates it from being a simply book-to-film adaptation and the truly wonderful epic it should rightfully be.
While it may not be perfect, I cannot help but applaud The Hunger Games. This is the best first book-to-film adaptation since The Fellowship of the Ring, and did exactly what I secretly hoped it would – made me want to read the books as fast as humanly possible to find out what happens next. While it hints at oh so much of more, the film gives you just enough to stay riveting throughout. Lawrence cements her status as someone to watch out for, while Hutcherson and Hemsworth should brace for stardom. With Harry Potter an all but distant memory, and Twilight hopefully fading into obscurity, it's nice to know we have a series we can actually look forward to continuing. Bring on Catching Fire!
8/10.