Too many people are missing the subtextual undercurrent.

Rating: 8/10 (26 March 2012)

Saw the Hunger Games yesterday, and I thought it was pretty damn good. I attempted to read the book three years ago in Europe, alas it fell into the River Thames, so I never got past about 1/3 of the book. I found the movie to be an excellent adaption of what I had read though. Okay so everyone's complaining about how it doesn't make sense. Think about it like this, the whole movie has a heavy subtextual undercurrent much like that of Orwell's 1984. It is commenting on what our future could be if we continue to rely on material goods and the media. People these days are so involved with their televisions, to quote The Wombats - "we kiss with one eye on our TV set". People living in shantytowns have plasma TVs in the movie. What do you think that's trying to say? People are saying the concept is much too violent, kids killing kids. Well thats the whole friggin point of the movie! It's supposed to be controversial, or else the movie wouldn't have a message about our future. Do you remember Golding's Lord of the Flies? That was kids killing kids too, but not because they were forced to, but because they WANTED to. The point of Lord of the Flies was to point out that no one, NO ONE, as innocent as they might be (English private school boys) have a capacity for evil. It's human nature. And they made me read that at school when I was 13. The film is rated PG13 (M here for mature in Australia), so I don't know why parents are getting their panties in a knot when they take their 7 year old daughter to see it. The shaky camera is one slight criticism, but overall that does have a nice effect too. I think adds a kind of 'amateur' dimension to the movie, and especially the fighting. Acting was superb and directing was perfect.
Overall, 8/10. Freaking fantastic movie, possibly may even become a classic. No Oscar winning flick, but definitely entertaining and spellbinding.