'They just want a good show, that's all they want.'

Rating: 2/10 (19 August 2012)

Maybe if you read the books, or maybe if you love watching young people kill each other, or maybe if you like juxtaposing Alice in Wonderland with apocalyptic visions, or, as in this viewer's case, maybe you just want to see what all the commotion was about when this HUNGER GAMES hit the theaters and sold out for weeks...but seeing that there are at least four more sequels scheduled into production through 2015 means we all should know what young people are idolizing. This series is to killing fellow youngsters as the Twilight series is to vampires and werewolves - and we still have another episode in that blood bath to go.
Suzanne Collins wrote the book and contributed to the screenplay along with Billy Ray and director Gary Ross so the result must be satisfactory to those addicted to the concept of THE HUNGER GAMES. According to the brief synopsis (for those who have yet to submit to this 2 Â½ hours of mayhem, the story goes something like this: In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives.'
The story inserts phrases like 'Hope, it is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it's contained' and 'They just want a good show' in order to make excuses for the wild concept of the movie. The cast includes Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson (probably the best performance in the film, sleazy though his character is), Elizabeth Banks (her makeup and costumes are more ridiculous than any of her confrÃ¨res), Lenny Kravitz (the most sensitive of the crew), and hunks Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson in addition to a cast of thousands. They do with the script what they can.
Perhaps it Is the popularity of the mayhem of the current video games or perhaps it is facing the mess we adults have created of this globe, but it is worrisome that themes of films such as this (and the sequels to come) attract such a positive response form the young adults for whom the book was written and the movie was made. It is almost like we have sunk to the level of the gladiator games of ancient Rome or the cockfights still popular in the little towns of the Americas. Knowing that those who follow reviews of this film will shred it, this viewer has to rely on the oft-repeated phrase form the film, 'May the odds be ever in your favor.'
Grady Harp