Review 121: The Hunger Games
Based on the novel, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, At an unidentified future date, the nation of Panem has risen out of the ruins of what was once known as North America. Due to an unsuccessful uprising by the districts of Panem, a raffle (known as the "reaping") is held to choose one boy and one girl (ranging from ages 12-18) from each of the twelve districts to participate in the Hunger Games, a competition in which each contestant (known as the "tributes") battles until only one is left. The winner receives honor, gifts, and enough food and supplies to never worry about anything ever again. The Hunger Games are a yearly reminder to the 12 districts of the Capitol's authority and punishment for their rebellion over 70 years ago in which the 13th district was destroyed. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) of Distirct 12 cares for her mother (Paula Malcomson) and sister Prim (Willow Shields) since he father died in an accident. During the reaping for the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Prim is picked as the female victor for District 12 but Katniss volunteers to take her sisters place. She along with the male tribute Peeta Malark (Josh Hutcherson) are taken to the Capitol to be trained for the Games where they will be pitted against other tributes from the other districts where they will become embroiled in a fight to the death.
The plot is amazing and stuck with the book and has many themes. Now the idea of a Reality TV death game is certainly nothing new as this film and its novel counterpart have recived numerous comparisons to the novel Battle Royale. But it makes for really gripping
Feminism: Reviewers and critics have differing views on whether the film represents feminist issues. Manohla Dargis, one of the chief film critics for The New York Times sees Katniss Everdeen as a female hero following in the lineage of "archetypal figures in the literature of the American West" such as Natty Bumppo, as well as characters portrayed by American actors such as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Katniss is also seen as defying normative gender roles: she exhibits both "masculine" and "feminine" traits equally. Dargis also notes that Katniss is a female character with significant agency: "Katniss is a fantasy figure, but partly what makes her powerful – and, I suspect, what makes her so important to a lot of girls and women – is that she's one of the truest feeling, most complex female characters to hit American movies in a while. She isn't passive, she isn't weak, and she isn't some random girl. She's active, she's strong and she's the girl who motivates the story." Similarly, Shelley Bridgeman of The New Zealand Herald wrote that because the characteristics of "athleticism, strength, courageousness and prowess at hunting" are not given to a male protagonist, but to Katniss, her character is an abrupt departure from the stereotypical depiction of women as being innately passive or helpless. Mahvesh Murad of the The Express Tribune said that the film's triumph is "a young female protagonist with agency", comparing her with Joss Whedon's Buffy Summers.
Politics: The film has drawn varying interpretations for its political overtones, including arguments in favor of left-wing, right-wing, and libertarian viewpoints. Bob Burnett of The Huffington Post observed the film displays a general distrust of government, regardless of the audience's political party affiliation. Steven Zeitchik and Emily Rome, in the Dallas Morning News, also stated that some viewers formed an opinion about The Hunger Games as a parable of the Occupy Wall Street activity. he Huffington Post reported that Penn Badgley, a supporter of Occupy Wall Street, saw the film as a social commentary on the movement. Burnett also states that "Collins doesn't use the terms 1 percent and 99 percent, but it's clear that those in the Capitol are members of the 1 percent and everyone in the Panem districts is part of the 99 percent".
Religion: Steven Zeitchik and Emily Rome, in the Los Angeles Times and the Dallas Morning News reported that, among other disparate interpretations, some viewers saw The Hunger Games as a Christian allegory. Jeffrey Weiss of the Star Tribune has remarked on what he saw as the intentional absence of religion in The Hunger Games universe, and has commented that whilst the stories contain no actual religion, people are "find[ing] aspects that represent their own religious values" within it. Donald Brake from The Washington Times, as well as Andy Langford, senior pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Concord, North Carolina and his daughter, Ann G. L. Duncan, a pastor at Hoyle Memorial United Methodist Church in Shelby, North Carolina, wrote that the film has Christian themes, such as that of self-sacrifice, which is found in Katniss' substitution for her younger sister, analogous to the sacrifice of Jesus as a substitute for the atonement of sins. Brake, as well as another reviewer, Amy Simpson, both find that the film also revolves around the theme of hope, which is exemplified in the "incorruptible goodness of Katniss' sister, Primrose." She also describes that Peeta Mellark is "a Christ figure" in the film. Similar to the events in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, in the Games, Peeta is stabbed and left for dead after saving Katniss' life—taking the wound that was initially meant for her—and is then buried in the ground and placed in a cave for three days before emerging with a new lease on life. Moreover, the Christian image of the Bread of Life is used throughout The Hunger Games; in the film, Peeta shows up "bearing a warm loaf of bread," and Katniss slowly comes "back to life." A news video starring Jonathan Morris aired on Fox News discussed the religious themes in the film further. In addition, many pastors have written Bible studies discussing the Christian allegories in the film.
Director Gary Ross's directing is stylish, the cinematography is beautiful, the make up is rich, the violence is brutal, the score by James Newton Howard is brilliant, the production design is bringing the nation of Panem to life , costumes are gorgeous, the sound effects are great, it's well paced, the special effects are spectacular, the action scenes are thrilling, expertly staged and well choreographed, the props is brilliant and the the ending was superb.
The cast was wonderful, particularly from Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson who play their roles impeccably well. When we first meet Katniss, she's living in District 12 which is a mining district, dominated by forests and meadows as well as the the poorest out of the 12 districts and starvation is a major issue for the citizens; is taking care of family and leads a fairly
she makes a very bold and selfless move when she
Liam Hemsworth is great as Gale
Elizabeth Banks is a lot of fun Effie Trinket and adds a bit of humor to the film
Woody Harrelson is fantastic as Haymitch Abernathy,
Lenny Kravitz is fabulous as Cinna and portrays the character with beautiful sensitivity
Stanley Tucci and Toby Jones are wonderfully charasmatic as Caesar Flickerman & Claudius Templesmith. The Master of Ceremonies and commentators for the Hunger Games. The two of them are a simply superb double act and compliment each other
Donald Sutherland is quite powerful as President Snow, ruler of the Capitol and all of Panem. The most intimidating thing about his performance is how calm and composed he is. Bringing the much
needed menace
The Hunger Games captures the dramatic violence, raw emotion, and ambitious scope of the novel and I look forward to the sequel coming out in 2013, 4/5.
The Anonymous Critic
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