Don't waste your time - just read the books

Rating: 4/10 (26 March 2012)

I would have given this a 1 is Jennifer Lawrence hadn't managed to do such an amazing job with such horrible material.
I love the books. They are everything that Twilight isn't: well-written, emotionally deep, and able to withstand the test of time, which only makes me like them more. I cried, more than once, while reading them (also more than once).
That said, I have no idea how anyone who has read the books could possibly have enjoyed this film. There was no connection between the story taking place on screen and the audience. Shaky cam did NOT help.
I feel as though the director/screenwriter (even more shocking, because Suzanne Collins was apparently involved with writing the screenplay) had no concept of what the books were really about. There was zero sense of urgency about anything. Snow needed to be way creepier than he was. And there was no explanation of the salute, or the treachery and danger that Katniss faced in the Capitol and the ways that she had to lie to everyone around her to save her life and the lives of her friends and family. There was definitely no explanation or even allusion to the fact that her romance with Peeta is mostly acting. We don't see her irritation with him because of his lack of survival skills -- i.e., the noise he makes as he is walking through the Arena.
None of the tributes seemed hungry or angry enough to be in the positions that they were in. They barely developed Rue as a character, much less her relationship with Katniss, so when she dies, it's kind of sad that a little kid gets a spear through her chest, but you don't get the sense that this is kind of the last straw for Katniss. None of her actions come across as "rebellious" so there's no sense of imminent danger just from the choices she makes; the only danger comes from the other tributes. This is an important distinction because of what happens in the next books. Just from the events in the movie, I can't see why anyone would pick her to be the face of the rebellion. She doesn't seem to incite anyone to do anything.
None of this is Jennifer Lawrence's fault. I had reservations when they cast her, but I think she did a heck of a job with not much to go on. I think if the writing had been better, she could have made this a phenomenal movie. I also think that Josh Hutcherson did an excellent job as Peeta, although again, he didn't have a lot to work with. Liam Hemsworth as Gale didn't give me the sense of barely controlled rage and harsh practicality that his character displayed in the books, but he was OK as a placeholder I guess. Maybe he'll do better in the next 2? Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci were awesome, not that I didn't expect that.
Here's hoping that they don't screw up when casting Finnick.
Also, I didn't think it was possible to mess up the flashback scene where Peeta burns the bread for Katniss, but they did. Oh they did.