My review of "The Hunger Games" (2012)

Rating: 8/10 (2 November 2014)

Yeah, okay. As it turns out, "The Hunger Games" (2012) was actually a really good movie – I'd cheerfully give it an 8 out of 10. I thought that this would be a sci-fi equivalent of a Twilight franchise, or a mainstreamed ripoff of "Battle Royale" (2000), but it was none of the former and only a little of the latter.
It took a decent story and populated it with fully realized, three- dimensional characters, then cast good actors across the board. You know a movie works if you're cheering for the main protagonist. It was also a surprisingly dark story for a young adult book adaptation.
The pacing was a little off  characters and plot devices are raised and dropped a little abruptly, and you can tell they were included because they were elements of Suzanne Collins' book that fans were expecting. And the action directing wasn't the best I've seen – the final standoff was a little awkwardly staged and anticlimactic. Those are small quibbles, though.
If anyone really likes this, it might be fun to watch this and "Battle Royale" back-to-back on a rainy Saturday.
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