So... was this supposed to be better than BR?

Rating: 2/10 (14 August 2012)

I have read a TON of reviews that told us this is THE THRILLER, the revolution, the super amazing thing. Basically it is only huge victory of marketing over the common sense. To say that the Hunger Games is better than Battle Royale is the same as to say that Coca Cola is better than the best French Champagne, because the Coca Cola sells more bottles and it is better known around the world. Oh, this power of marketing that sells water with sugar and forces the masses think that it is mana directly from the heavens!
To say it simply and honestly: The Hunger Games is huge failure. It is super boring nonsense that tries to play emotional, sad or whatever. It is thriller written by the worst author of the love books you can ever imagine. It is movie where the only real thrill is a bunch of silly costumes of the Capitol People. But even they do look as a collection of weirdos from very cheap music video from 80ties.
I loved Battle Royale for its roughness, political message and pure shock value. There is nothing like that, when there is the first combat scene, it fails miserably. You can basically see only shaking camera. Then there is another long boring part, then again some super short combat messed again by another shaky camera. Then some hallucinations, then some memories, then some other boring sequence. There is a lot of similar movies (TV show that will be survived only by the sole victor) and every single of them is more thrilling. The only thing that would make the movie even more unbearable would be Sandra Bullock in the leading role.
The Hunger Games is a joke, it is less thrilling that any Harry Potter movie. It is basically movie for kids dressed as a thriller. It is definitely not recommended for anyone ho seeks real thriller or really powerful movie. But again: If you are twelve it might be fine for you. The leading actress is pretty so you may be happy just to observe her in various dresses and enjoy when she runs around the woods. There is a bit of tears, flower gathering and shallow morale for these teenage girls who may like this Hunting Barbie kind of stuff. As a male I have suffered horribly however.
One extra point for silly costumes and crazy haircuts. This is probably the only shocking thing in the whole movie.