intriguing story and great cast make for a solid showing

Rating: Null/10 (25 March 2019)

Survival of the fittest motion picture based on the novel by Suzanne Collins set in the dystopian, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, which is divided between twelve working-class districts, and the corrupt, upper-class Capitol. To punish the districts for a past rebellion, each year the Capitol selects two tributes (one male, one female) between the ages of twelve and eighteen to compete in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death where there can only be one survivor. To protect her younger sister, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a skilled archer from District 12, volunteers to join the games where she's forced to compete against the various tributes, among them fellow District 12 member Peeta Mellark. Intense and exciting with creative action scenes, a vivid portrait of this bleak world, and a well-chosen cast across the board with Lawrence compelling in the central role. The violence is clearly watered-down, and the story loses some of its thrust in the third act, but the overall results are still impressive. ***