This review is from: The Hunger Games (2 Disc) [DVD] (DVD)
« Hunger Games » is certainly the best film I have seen since many many months, and it is a very successful adaptation of an excellent book.
In my personal opinion, both the book and the film are much deeper and much more ambitious, than what most critics and reviewers would make us believe. After reading the reviews in “New York Times”, “Le Monde” and on “Msn.com” (to cite only few) I was surprised that they mostly missed everything that is important in this film. With a kind of amused superiority (like people from Capitol in the film), the “professional” reviewers pointed at the obvious allusions to gladiator fights, the reality shows, the importance of trashy entertainment in today’s TV, the search for a new franchise able to replace “Twilight”, etc., etc.
But they almost entirely failed to see that this film is first and above all about much more important things: how to keep hope, not lose the courage and preserve humanity and dignity under a totalitarian oppressive regime.
I believe that almost everybody now knows that when writing “Hunger Games” Susan Collins attempted basically a modern (even futurist) retelling of the old Greek myth of Theseus and Minotaur. According to this ancient tale, after losing a war, every year the city of Athens had to send a tribute of seven young men and seven maidens to the king of Crete. Once there those young people were locked in the Labyrinth, to be devoured by the monster Minotaur. This yearly punishment and humiliation lasted until Theseus, crown prince of Athens, volunteered to be one of the tributes and once locked in the Labyrinth he defeated and killed the Minotaur.
In “Hunger Games” what was once United States (and I think also Canada) is now called the Panem. It is a country divided in twelve Districts remaining under the control of the Capitol central metropolis. There was once thirteen Districts, but when they rebelled against the central power, the Capitol destroyed completely the District 13 with all its population and then defeated and submitted again the twelve others. In order to remind to its subjects how absolute is its power, the Capitol claims a yearly tribute – one girl and one boy of ages from 12 to 18 from every District. The tributes are then send to an arena and forced to fight, until only one remains alive. This yearly event is called the Hunger Games and it is shown live on TV to all the population of Panem. This film tells the story of what happened at the 74th edition of Hunger Games…
For Capitol the purpose of Hunger Games is to remind yearly how powerful is the central metropolis and how dire can be the consequences of its wrath, but also – and even more importantly in my opinion – to humiliate and degrade the people of the Districts by forcing them to become accomplices (even if under duress) of a barbarian custom in which some of their own children are send to the slaughterhouse. And as all bullies and abusers know, it is much easier to oppress, abuse and brutalize victims who lack self-esteem…
Well, in this film we can see how one of the tributes from District 12, an exceptional young girl named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), manages to turn the tables on the Capitol and by allowing people of Panem to regain some of their dignity she will be the pebble which starts the avalanche. The exact way in which she does that will not be revealed here, but both in the book as in the film it is described in a very intelligent and very moving way…
This may seem a rather improbable thing that a 16 years old child can do something that will ultimately bring down a seemingly invincible and all-powerful tyranny, but let’s not forget that in the real world, the great wave of revolutions of Arab Spring began on 18 December 2010 with a desperate gesture of a dirt-poor 27-years old Tunisian street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire after having been robbed and beaten by the corrupt local police one time too much… Less than two years after, the oppressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya already collapsed, the seemingly eternal dictator of Yemen had to resign and the Syrian brutal regime is now facing a massive armed rebellion..
Bottom line, this film is first and before all a story about how even a seemingly powerless person can horribly hurt a tyrannic regime with a magic potion made of lots of courage, an ice-cold determination, a great personal dignity, a little compassion, a handful of flowers, a couple of tears and one defiant and powerful challenging gesture…
The powerful message and excellent scenario are not the only reasons why I consider “Hunger Games” as a masterpiece. Actors were selected very carefully and they perform very well. Jennifer Lawrence is simply perfect – there is no other word to describe her performance! However, after seeing her in “Winter’s Bone” and “X-Men: First class” I didn’t expect anything…
Having read all the Hunger Games books I could not wait for this to come out in the cinema but part of me was worried that making such a complex book into a movie would not be possible (lets face it most books are miles better than the movies due to the simple fact they can go into a lot more detail)but I have to say I did not need to be worried in the slightest, I loved it that much I ended up going to see it twice!
The film is set in the future in an american nation called Panem which is split into districts. Each year the capitol of Panem forces each district to volunteer up a boy and a girl to compete in the annual “Hunger Games” as punishment for rising up against the capitol many years ago. As the 74th Hunger Games is about to start Katniss Everdeen finds her 12 year old sister is chosen to compete, knowing she would never make it out alive Katniss offers herself in her sisters place and from then on is put into the arena with all the other tributes to fight for her life. However there is one slight problem – Peeta Mellark, the boy who once saved her life is in the arena with her and how can she bring herself to kill him when she just might be falling in love with him.
This film does the book justice and it actually follows the majority of the book down to the very lines spoken. The acting is amazing from everyone in the film, it is without a doubt Jennifer Lawrence’s best movie yet!
I can’t wait to own such an amazing movie, I’m sure it is going to be one I will watch again and again!
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Firstly I have read the books and I loved them. They were brutal, funny, tragic, romantic and heartwrenching. Everything a good adventure novel should be. So it was I was waiting eagerly for the film. I never got the chance to see it at the cinema; but based on the numerous good reviews I preordered the blu-ray. I really enjoyed the film; but as with many other reviewers I felt that the book was better. The book spent much more time establishing characters and relationships and I really liked that. Obviously, with the book being in first person, everything was from Katniss’ perspective – but that only serves to makes you sympathize with her predicament and those around her more. Her relationships with Peeta and Rue go much deeper in the book and I felt the film foolishly downplayed these moments. Likewise, the other contestants in the games seemed vastly under utilised in the film; and as a result they either became unimportant or impotent. Cato was a fierce and imposing killer in the book – but reduced merely to a brooding bully in the film (albeit one with a sword). Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed the film and I’m glad I bought it, but I just wish it been a little better. However, I am sure when I watch it again – knowing everything that’s changed or omitted – I will enjoy it much more. I felt the same way with Twilight – hated it on first viewing. I look foward to Catching Fire and Mockingjay!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
A masterpiece! An excellent film about courage, hope and human dignity facing the all powerful totalitarian tyranny!,
« Hunger Games » is certainly the best film I have seen since many many months, and it is a very successful adaptation of an excellent book.
In my personal opinion, both the book and the film are much deeper and much more ambitious, than what most critics and reviewers would make us believe. After reading the reviews in “New York Times”, “Le Monde” and on “Msn.com” (to cite only few) I was surprised that they mostly missed everything that is important in this film. With a kind of amused superiority (like people from Capitol in the film), the “professional” reviewers pointed at the obvious allusions to gladiator fights, the reality shows, the importance of trashy entertainment in today’s TV, the search for a new franchise able to replace “Twilight”, etc., etc.
But they almost entirely failed to see that this film is first and above all about much more important things: how to keep hope, not lose the courage and preserve humanity and dignity under a totalitarian oppressive regime.
I believe that almost everybody now knows that when writing “Hunger Games” Susan Collins attempted basically a modern (even futurist) retelling of the old Greek myth of Theseus and Minotaur. According to this ancient tale, after losing a war, every year the city of Athens had to send a tribute of seven young men and seven maidens to the king of Crete. Once there those young people were locked in the Labyrinth, to be devoured by the monster Minotaur. This yearly punishment and humiliation lasted until Theseus, crown prince of Athens, volunteered to be one of the tributes and once locked in the Labyrinth he defeated and killed the Minotaur.
In “Hunger Games” what was once United States (and I think also Canada) is now called the Panem. It is a country divided in twelve Districts remaining under the control of the Capitol central metropolis. There was once thirteen Districts, but when they rebelled against the central power, the Capitol destroyed completely the District 13 with all its population and then defeated and submitted again the twelve others. In order to remind to its subjects how absolute is its power, the Capitol claims a yearly tribute – one girl and one boy of ages from 12 to 18 from every District. The tributes are then send to an arena and forced to fight, until only one remains alive. This yearly event is called the Hunger Games and it is shown live on TV to all the population of Panem. This film tells the story of what happened at the 74th edition of Hunger Games…
For Capitol the purpose of Hunger Games is to remind yearly how powerful is the central metropolis and how dire can be the consequences of its wrath, but also – and even more importantly in my opinion – to humiliate and degrade the people of the Districts by forcing them to become accomplices (even if under duress) of a barbarian custom in which some of their own children are send to the slaughterhouse. And as all bullies and abusers know, it is much easier to oppress, abuse and brutalize victims who lack self-esteem…
Well, in this film we can see how one of the tributes from District 12, an exceptional young girl named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), manages to turn the tables on the Capitol and by allowing people of Panem to regain some of their dignity she will be the pebble which starts the avalanche. The exact way in which she does that will not be revealed here, but both in the book as in the film it is described in a very intelligent and very moving way…
This may seem a rather improbable thing that a 16 years old child can do something that will ultimately bring down a seemingly invincible and all-powerful tyranny, but let’s not forget that in the real world, the great wave of revolutions of Arab Spring began on 18 December 2010 with a desperate gesture of a dirt-poor 27-years old Tunisian street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire after having been robbed and beaten by the corrupt local police one time too much… Less than two years after, the oppressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya already collapsed, the seemingly eternal dictator of Yemen had to resign and the Syrian brutal regime is now facing a massive armed rebellion..
Bottom line, this film is first and before all a story about how even a seemingly powerless person can horribly hurt a tyrannic regime with a magic potion made of lots of courage, an ice-cold determination, a great personal dignity, a little compassion, a handful of flowers, a couple of tears and one defiant and powerful challenging gesture…
The powerful message and excellent scenario are not the only reasons why I consider “Hunger Games” as a masterpiece. Actors were selected very carefully and they perform very well. Jennifer Lawrence is simply perfect – there is no other word to describe her performance! However, after seeing her in “Winter’s Bone” and “X-Men: First class” I didn’t expect anything…
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|Finally, a movie that follows the book!,
Having read all the Hunger Games books I could not wait for this to come out in the cinema but part of me was worried that making such a complex book into a movie would not be possible (lets face it most books are miles better than the movies due to the simple fact they can go into a lot more detail)but I have to say I did not need to be worried in the slightest, I loved it that much I ended up going to see it twice!
The film is set in the future in an american nation called Panem which is split into districts. Each year the capitol of Panem forces each district to volunteer up a boy and a girl to compete in the annual “Hunger Games” as punishment for rising up against the capitol many years ago.
As the 74th Hunger Games is about to start Katniss Everdeen finds her 12 year old sister is chosen to compete, knowing she would never make it out alive Katniss offers herself in her sisters place and from then on is put into the arena with all the other tributes to fight for her life.
However there is one slight problem – Peeta Mellark, the boy who once saved her life is in the arena with her and how can she bring herself to kill him when she just might be falling in love with him.
This film does the book justice and it actually follows the majority of the book down to the very lines spoken.
The acting is amazing from everyone in the film, it is without a doubt Jennifer Lawrence’s best movie yet!
I can’t wait to own such an amazing movie, I’m sure it is going to be one I will watch again and again!
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|Solid Four-Star Film of a Five-Star Book,
Firstly I have read the books and I loved them. They were brutal, funny, tragic, romantic and heartwrenching. Everything a good adventure novel should be.
So it was I was waiting eagerly for the film. I never got the chance to see it at the cinema; but based on the numerous good reviews I preordered the blu-ray. I really enjoyed the film; but as with many other reviewers I felt that the book was better.
The book spent much more time establishing characters and relationships and I really liked that. Obviously, with the book being in first person, everything was from Katniss’ perspective – but that only serves to makes you sympathize with her predicament and those around her more. Her relationships with Peeta and Rue go much deeper in the book and I felt the film foolishly downplayed these moments. Likewise, the other contestants in the games seemed vastly under utilised in the film; and as a result they either became unimportant or impotent. Cato was a fierce and imposing killer in the book – but reduced merely to a brooding bully in the film (albeit one with a sword).
Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed the film and I’m glad I bought it, but I just wish it been a little better. However, I am sure when I watch it again – knowing everything that’s changed or omitted – I will enjoy it much more. I felt the same way with Twilight – hated it on first viewing.
I look foward to Catching Fire and Mockingjay!
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