A Shoddy Blockbuster Held Up by Its Characters and Ideas

Rating: 6/10 (11 September 2016)

There's something inherently contradictory about the glossy and commercialized way this movie portrays its violence against children in the hope of mass popularity. I also feel a huge disconnect between the movie Gary Ross thought he was making and the material he was adapting. The result is a tone that works at first, but falls apart once we get to the Capital and the games begin.
A rare blockbuster that I can get behind for its characters, themes and ideas rather than its spectacle. It's a concept that requires a healthy suspension of disbelief, but if you go with it there's lot to latch onto and contemplate.
Katniss and her relationship with her younger sister is set up quite well, you feel they truly care for each other, even before Katniss volunteers. The camera is really shaky, and it does eventually become annoying, but I enjoyed how it was used at first. It made this world feel tangible, lived in.
Oh boy, once we get to the Capital though, B-movie film making. Bad CGI, crowd scenes, make-up, etc. I get that it's supposed to be tacky, but you can make the content of a film tacky without it coming across as cinematically tacky as well. The arena is boring, and as I said earlier, the violence is glossed over so it could nab that PG-13 rating. Stanley Tucci is pretty awesome, but he's mostly there to explain to us the absurd rules. Peeta The Rock is an unintentional laugh out loud moment. Those dogs aren't explained well enough and they look ridiculous.
The ending is pretty good, but it feels rushed. I don't know how big the books were before this film, but it's easy to see how this ending could have inspired millions of new readers who needed to find out what happens next without actually loving this movie.