Directed by:
Gary RossCinematography:
Tom SternCast:
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Willow Shields, Leven Rambin, Wes Bentley, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Dayo Okeniyi (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Inspired by the best-selling young-adult novel by author Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games tells the dark tale of a 16-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who is selected to compete in a vicious televised tournament in which 24 teenagers from a post-apocalyptic society are selected to fight to the death for the entertainment of the masses. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth co-star. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (62)
Reviews (16)
Visually and conceptually repulsive. It's true that after the first half, where farcical fascist harlequins prepare the plebeians for bread and circuses, things improve slightly. However, I still don't understand why Jennifer Lawrence in the second part doesn't have a bump on her forehead, isn't gnawing on rattlesnakes' rattles, or riding a motorcycle among doves. And does she love the young baker or the young Thor? One would hope to accept this factory of sterility, clichés, and silly plot twists as a guilty pleasure, but even that seems unlikely. A telling moment is when the youth head to the "arena," and instead of appearing pale and vomiting or urinating as if landing on Normandy, they act as if they're about to embark on a pioneer camp obstacle course. I kept hoping for Professor Subzero to come in with his goalie stick and smash them like Ron Hextall during moments of mental distress.
()
Unpretentious and ego-laden entertainment for a teen audience that doesn't give a damn about what Battle Royale is and how much the success of a great theme depends on all other aspects of filmmaking. The Hunger Games is not that badly made, it has a few bright moments and above all it boasts an excellent Jennifer Lawrence, who in the Japanese original was sorely missed in the flood of Asian faces, but regardless of how good and fun it is, this nothing more than another overblown bubble under the Hollywood banner, which, although it ensures prestige and money, can also overshadow even the best subject with a wave of pathos and American heroism. While Battle Royale was a bold and creative satire that couldn't be taken entirely seriously, The Hunger Games pretends to be a modern stylized sci-fi with a serious idea of a totalitarian future, but its potential ends exactly where it begins: with the premise. The film holds together really only thanks to the believable and very pleasant chemistry between the two leading actors. I’m certainly not disappointed, but that's only because I expected a similar result in advance. 60%
()
The Hunger Games is another of those interesting fantasy book series that got adapted into a Hollywood movie. I was quite reluctant to see this. Even though I like fantasy films very much, I never know what to expect from them, and what I’ve seen lately was mostly so mediocre that it made me sad. But in the end, I made time for The Hunger Games one Sunday afternoon. I chose Sunday because the film has almost three hours. A film of this length must inevitably have some balls to grab my attention and keep me from falling asleep. The first half an hour was an introduction to the fantasy world in question. There was nothing much going on, but it served its purpose. Nevertheless, at the moment the titular hunger games kicked off, I started to enjoy the movie very much. I found the premise really intriguing, and the way this movie was shot is also not exactly ordinary. The story is quite realistic, with a lot of food for thought. And I must say that even though I felt kind of skeptical about this fantasy world at first, over time I grew fond of it and I began to wonder what the creators – and the source book – have in store for us next time. So yes, I must say that there is something about this world. The execution is also well-done, so the remaining two and half hours passed in the blink of an eye. I was satisfied with the result, and now I’m curious about the sequel.
()
A roller coaster of a plot, which greatly enhances your desire to read a book, but also works as a surprising teenage hit right to the very last minute. The characters are spot-on, the actors amazing, the relationships believable, and despite several seemingly exaggerated scenes towards the end, it's actually hard for me to find any specific criticism. Perhaps if the second installment goes deeper into the interaction between the main characters, I will be fully thrilled. Those who mock the partial resemblance to the works of George Orwell or The Truman Show have failed to grasp that there is a slightly different metaphor here. Katniss Everdeen for the win. P.S.: I fell in love with the book almost instantly, and after reading the entire saga, I would give Suzanne Collins almost anything. Just for the record.
()
It regrettably misses the mark as a social parable and a critique of a reality show (the classic misguided product syndrome: I criticize myself and I’m not aware of it), as a sci-fi hopelessly non-original, toothless as an action film, pubertal dull as a drama... the argument that it is the absolute opposite of Twilight does not stand up - simply because the heroine is "tough and unyielding", that director Ross and especially cinematographer Stern are at a higher level (the raw filming raises it above average), and that the story has a certain deeper subtext - is not enough. The Hunger Games is similarly poser-like dull and harmlessly consumable. I would like to write that this is The Truman Show for teenagers, but the truth is that this is all to which Weir's film is critically defined. If only it worked as "simple entertainment". But it doesn't. Without knowledge of the book, it is confused, unfinished and overwhelmed with obligatory clichés and affected by a very tied up imagination.
()
Ads