A motion picture true to the source material

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2014)

When I first went to see "The Hunger Games" at the cinema, I did not quite know what to expect. Was it going to be a mediocre PG-13 film with a bad plot and with bland performances like that of the "Twilight"- franchise, or would it lean more towards uncompromising violence and a story of the human condition when faced with the extreme like in "Battle Royale"? I left the theatre thinking it was neither of the two and perhaps that it was a bit constrained.
Finding the dystopian look on future North America to be compelling though, I decided to give the book a chance at reading, curious to see if it was any better than the film. The book instantly got me hooked and I realized I needed to watch the film adaptation over again. To my surprise, it was better than the first time.
The film is very true to the source material and director Gary Ross envisions the different milieus of Panem perfectly. The locations in every scene are in absolute compliance with those in the book.
Jennifer Lawrence, playing the lead character Katniss Everdeen, delivers a great performance as a vulnerable adolescent girl with a tough exterior. Although her character could have developed a bit more, she is in no way devoid of emotion. Emotion she shows aplenty throughout the film. I also liked Woody Harrelson's portrayal of Haymitch. He was funny, believable and easy to like. As for the rest of the cast, their performances were good in general so kudos to the casting director.
Another thing I liked was the score by James Newton Howard, arguably the best composer for cinema these days. It really set the mood for the various scenes and I especially loved the song Rue's Farewell.
One of the things I disliked about the film was the shaky camera during the battle scenes. It did perhaps add to the sense of suspense, but one could see fairly little of what was going on at times. Understandably, this was to be able to reach out to a larger crowd of movie-goers. Additionally I found it slightly ironic and puzzling how little actual hunger there were in the games.
So overall "The hunger Games" was enthralling and quite excellent. It is satirical and in many ways, it surpasses most films aimed at a younger crowd. The film series will be worth looking forward to in the years to come and the prospects for the upcoming sequels are looking bright I would say.