A lot of things it is, but a good movie it is not

Rating: 6/10 (8 April 2012)

Virtually all reviews I've read for "The Hunger Games" were favorable/unfavorable towards it based on the sole criterion of whether it was a faithful adaptation. Well, I haven't read the book and I don't care. A review is useful to me if it tells me whether this is a good movie. Likewise, I don't care whether it is a good setup for its two upcoming(?) sequels, only whether it stands on its own merit. So, with that in mind, here's my impression of it:
The first thirty minutes of it, or so, were a good setup for a movie that is an intelligent commentary about social polarization and the dehumanization of "all who are not us", as well as about the unreality of reality game shows (which, I must say, the entire movie depicts fairly accurately, with no exaggeration except in the most superficial dimension).
Sadly, after that, the movie loses its edge. Characterizations (of the dystopian world as well as its inhabitants) are done with a spatula rather than with a paintbrush, and are often too saccharine-filled to be believable in all but G-rated movies. Far more disturbingly, the characters, after speeches of "I will make them remember me" do nothing but play the game according to its own rules. There is no place where the movie extends, to any serious extent, beyond the reality of the game and its rules. What a shame. The opportunity was right there for the taking...
... and the movie hints that it will be taken in a sequel.
Well, I bought a ticket to see a movie, not a long trailer, and I don't think I'll buy a second ticket just to see another.