A better film than anyone was expecting - even Lionsgate

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2012)

Let's face it - Lionsgate is not the centre of the film making universe. But they have struck gold here for what is a very modest price - well under $100 million when the average blockbuster is more than twice that. Even the special features DVD commentary admits that it turned out far better than anyone expected.
Jennifer Lawrence's performance as Katniss Everdeen has to be the breakthrough of the year. Faced with the impossibility of transferring her lengthy monologues from the book, the film instead uses facial expressions quite brilliantly - the selfish contempt she feels for her mother, the shock when she sees Peeta with the Career Tributes - it's all there.
The supporting cast is exceptional too - my personal favourite being the district 12 mentor Haymitch who is portrayed much more sympathetically than the book - and in greater detail. We get to see his shrewd machinations that save Katniss on multiple occasions.
And of course, no review is complete without mentioning the glorious scene near the end where you actually feel sorry for Cato, as he finally realises he's just an expendable fairground attraction, "one more kill, it's the only thing I know how to do".
In contrast to other films of this type, Hunger Games is quite chilling in its realism because what was portrayed has in fact happened before. In ancient Rome, children were forced to fight as gladiators, in front of a crowd who bet on the outcome.