Hunger Games grows up

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2014)

Version I saw: UK cinema screening (2D)
Actors: 7/10 Plot/script: 7/10 Photography/visual style: 7/10
Music/score: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
It's not in the least bit original, but that is not the point. Ever since I saw the first Hunger Games film a couple of years ago, the sources from which it drew inspiration were pretty obvious. Suzanne Collins claims never to have heard of Battle Royale when she wrote the books, but the premise is so similar that it is hard to credit, and there are strong echoes of Rollerball and The Running Man.
The excellence of the films, though, is in the delivery. It is there in the acting, exemplified by the storied Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). Katniss is genuinely one of the best feminist role models around today, a complex three-dimensional character often favourably compared to Twilight's Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). Lawrence has also developed in the last couple of years into a highly respected actress from whom one can expect a strong, serious performance every time.
Like Lawrence, all the characters and actors involved with the Hunger Games have developed from adolescence to full-on adulthood, with an increase in maturity and consideration. The plot is all about this tension, between the well-considered, dispassionate choice and the emotive decision dictated by the heart.
Add in the well thought out production design, evoking a largely low-tech future that is easy to understand so that the more complex science-fiction concepts can pass without difficulty.
Intelligent, well thought out design that develops the story between films, and solid professionalism in delivery, make The Hunger Games what it is. I only hope they are not derailed by the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.
For my full review, see my independent film blog on Blogspot, Cinema Inferno: http://cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk