The Hunger Games (2012)

In an entertainment business that is increasingly dependent on other people's ideas, movies based on books have become an extremely popular phenomenon. Most of the biggest movies from each year were spawned from some sort of written material, which in turn helps make both media forms big successes. The most recent such sensation is a trilogy of books written by Suzanne Collins with the first entitled The Hunger Games, the subject of this new film directed by Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit). The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, a girl who lives in the poor district of a futuristic world where once a year two children between the ages of twelve and eighteen are forced to fight to the death for the amusement of the government and the masses. Katniss volunteers to compete in place of her younger sister and faces the challenge of surviving a battle against twenty-three other, more brutal, teens.

I first heard of this story early last year when I was writing a school project about boycotted books, with this one topping the lists. I don't think the enormous success amongst teens was jumpstarted until the movie was nearing release, however, but when it did, it spread like crazy. Most everyone I know in the targeted demographic had not only read the book but also loved it. I sat through the movie trying to understand what resonated so well with people my age. I can only assume that there are two reasons: the triumphant victory of an equally strong and fragile young lady easily associated with and the great amounts of violent behavior. The thing is that I am not seeing much purpose in this movie, nor do I think that the two things that make it popular were altogether well done. This is one of those action movies that brings absolutely nothing new to the table. Nothing incredibly exciting happens and there are no surprises. Any idiot knows that Katniss will win the game, so all dramatic success depends on the portrayal of her adventure. Lawrence is a competent young actress and does well in the role that was given her, but I thought that the character and her plight were rather artificial and unconvincing. Rarely does our heroine accomplish anything without the help of other players or the random appearance of helpful objects (What is the likelihood that a nest of genetically altered lethal wasps would just happen to be hanging there?). Also, there is a very shallow romantic subplot that does nothing but enhance the run-time. I understand that these are criticisms more accurately aimed at the book, but this is still the story I was asked to believe, and I had a hard time doing it.

Then there's the violence, which I hear is much gorier in the book and has been toned down for the sake of the PG-13 rating. What I don't understand is how gleefully the movie becomes an adrenaline rush, with many scenes being accompanied by the dreaded shaky-cam, which restrains us from being able to tell who is who and what they are doing. The only thing of importance I can find in the movie is a message against the brainwashing people blindly endure, put upon them by governments and the media. Violence has become such an essential part of American entertainment that an eventual turn to gladiator-style reality shows is not so absurd. But this movie has no time to address any moral. In many ways, the movie itself is proof of what it is fighting against. It so mindlessly trudges through its violent scenario that we become involved and even entertained by the situation, but cannot become involved with the people. Just as The Hunger Games' public officials use their games to fool the masses, the movie plays its own games with us. And, for the most part, we play along.

6/10