The Beginning Of the Next Teen Film Franchise

Rating: Null/10 (26 August 2012)

In my original review of the hunger games, I said that it was a good movie and nothing special but after reading the source material and watching the film twice, I find it to be an ambitious and thought provoking film especially for the YA genre. As for the BA ripoff comments that people say, it is similar to BA in premise but thats where the comparisons end. It has more in common with "The Running Man" not that its a bad thing. The plot is this: In the future North America no longer exists and is now called Panem which is separated into 13 Districts and the main Capitol but District 13 rebelled against the totalitarian government and as a result it was destroyed. As punishment to other Districts, The Hunger Games (which involves sending teenage boys and girls to kill each other and the last one standing wins) was formed to prevent other future rebellions.
Our main character is Katniss Everdeen played by Winter Bone's Jennifer Lawrence who willingly volunteers to take her young sisters place in the hunger games after she is chosen. After viewing the film a second time after I read the book, I noticed that the movie was surprisingly faithful to the novel with minor changes and additions which make the story more interesting and emotional. The casting is great with the best being Jennifer Lawrence who manages to capture the book's Katniss Everdeen very closely. Not to mention, she's a more interesting and compelling character than Kristen Stewart's bland Bella Swan from the Twilight movies.
Gary Ross's direction is great with introductions and building tension in the first half then exploding with fast paced editing and action in the second half. I'd say that The Hunger Games is a good movie franchise off to a great start. For those who are tired of Twilight see this but be warned. Despite the fact that this film is rated PG-13, it still has teenagers killing each other and is not for the feint of heart. 8 out of 10 stars