🟩 The Hunger Games (2012) Review - Not Half Bad | Film Waffle

 

The Hunger Games (2012) directed by Gary Ross

That Lionsgate trailer gives damn near half the plot away, don't it? What in the heck. 

So we're doing the movie version of The Hunger Games today. Although I wrote in my The Hunger Games book review that the book was my obsession a teen, I didn't watch the movies until much later. Like, until-the-pandemic later. 

Why? Because the first Hunger Games film came out in 2012, two years after the Mockingjay book was released. And that book. Well. Let's just say I hated that book with a passion, and it completely killed my interest in the series. Completely killed my motivation to read for a decade too.

But we are saving that rant for an upcoming Mockingjay book review.

Today we step into the shoes of Jennifer Lawrence and the media that made her famous years before the nude leaks.

Quick Summary

Katniss Everdeen is the eldest daughter of some woman who goes unnamed because who cares. The two of them, along with Katniss's younger sister Primrose, live in District 12 of Panem, a dystopian American state following an unspecified calamity.

The Capitol of Panem "reaps" one boy and one girl from each of the districts to participate in an annual battle to the death. The fight, known as The Hunger Games, is broadcast on live TV throughout Panem, presumably to give tired parents a break from reruns of Cocomelon and Paw Patrol.

By a cruel twist of fate, Katniss finds herself as the girl tribute for District 12. She joins boy tribute Peeta Mellark as they are whisked to the Capitol, ready to fight only to survive.

Story & Characters

Overall, this is a great adaptation that I really enjoyed.

I stand by my book review in saying that this is a fantastic story. A real peak of early 2000's teen literature.

There are some differences. To be expected, of course.

The omission of the District 12 mayor and his daughter, Madge, was the first big departure that I flagged. It's not hugely significant for me. Madge does have an important duty in the books, but it's reassigned in the movie. Personally, I didn't give a hoot for Madge, so no harm done.

Somewhat related to that is the lack of characterization for the District 12 peacekeepers. In the book they are a cadre of chill dudes that actively participate in the black market. Would've been nice to see, but I also understand those cuts.

Some omissions, however, are more harmful. Perhaps the most glaring is the Avox plotline. It goes completely unaddressed. One of the film's flaws is that it doesn't show enough of the Capitol's cruelty, and this is a golden example.

The story of the "Avox girl" is a crucial piece of the book. For those that don't know, the Avox are the mute servants and underclass of the Capitol. In the book it is either implied or outright stated that Avox are physically tortured, mentally tortured, and often sexually abused.

With this context, Capitol residents are not walled-off denizens living a life of ignorant luxury. No. They are slavers. Rapists. 

Avox girl's name in the book is Lavinia for Chrissake. It's not subtle. 

By removing this facet, the film presents an incomplete picture of our antagonists. The movie portrays the Capitol as exploitative. The book portrays the Capitol as evil. There is a difference.

It gets even weirder when you realize that Mr. Ross included a random scene of a hovercraft in the forest that never gets explained. Is this cut content?

Add a short scene of Lavinia being captured and lifted up into the ship. She sees Katniss in the bushes and cries for help. 

Once in the Capitol, Katniss sees Lavinia turned into a silent slave who meekly fills her glass. Katniss gasps. Effie turns to her. "Is something the matter?" 

Lavinia's eyes meet our protagonist. Katniss blinks. "No."

Simple. Quick. Effective worldbuilding. 

Boggling that something like this wasn't in the movie. It would have been so powerful.

This could've been explored more through Katniss's prep team too. I'm more forgiving of that. Would've been a lot of names for the audience to juggle. However, there was probably a more elegant solution than just dumping the worldbuilding on Cinna, Effie, and Caesar's shoulders.

Speaking of our noble protagonist, Jennifer Lawrence makes a pretty dang good Katniss. Her ugly crying face is a touch extreme. On the whole, though, she plays the role of strong-female-teen-forced-to-grow-up-early well.

Did you see Katniss holding the bow at full draw for ages in some of those scenes? Like, damn girl, gimmie some of them back muscles. Homegirl's lats and traps must be THICK.

Sawing through a fat AF branch with a dinky serrated throwing knife though?

LOL. Hell nah. That ain't happening.

Katniss is missing characterizing moments from the book. The scene where she drugs a main character comes to mind. Was not in the film.

Kinda weird that of all people to strip characterization from, you choose the protagonist. It dampens her agency.

Then we have Peeta. Oh, Peeta. Still as boring as ever. Sorry Josh Hutcherson fans.

When the casting was first announced, I was like, "Wait. Josh Hutcherson? You mean that POS little boy from Zathura and Bridge to Terabithia?"

I cannot see him as anything different. The man is typecast in my mind as the "annoying ten-year-old" stereotype. Granted, Peeta is a Hunger Games extra elevated to a main character role, so I already don't take him seriously.

Look at the dude's signature pout. Those big puppy dog eyes he flashes in every role. 

I'm told it had all the teenage girls on Wattpad lusting throughout the 2010s. Can't say I share that sentiment. That bottom picture is from Middle, by the way. 

I liked him in that because he acted like a stupid kid as a grown ass man.

God, I played the shit out of that song when I was a teen.

I thought Cato was funny. Half his screentime is just him stood there staring at people. Dude's aggressively eyefucking the whole cast. Katniss most of all.

Bro take a picture. Better yet, ask her out. Hell, you're a lot more interesting than Peeta. That's true even though all your ass does is aura farm. 

Cato: Some-buh-ee make uh fie-uh. 

We British now? The urge to make all baddies English is strong in this one. Sorry, bruv, you can't do that. The setting is post-apocalyptic America. You are living in the past Alexander Ludwig. Still thinking we gotta race to Witch Mountain.

Wait. Hold up. I've rewatched this clip at least a dozen times now, and it doesn't sound completely English? More a hybrid of English and... South African? 

IDK MAN COMMONWEALTH ACCENTS SOUND SO SIMILAR.

I feel as though the movie did Rue (Amandla Stenberg) dirty. It tries to force the rebellion angle too early by cutting away to the districts when the audience should be focused on the somberness of the moment. Still a fascinating character, though. Shows up for hardly any of the story and makes a bigger impact than most of the main characters.

I mentioned Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Effie (Elizabeth Banks), and Caesar (Stanley Tucci) before, and they were each played wonderfully by their actors. They were believable in how they stepped into their roles and brought the characters to life. Woody Harrelson also makes a fine Haymitch. Drunken but politically savvy. Donald Sutherland as President Snow... I don't know. I think President Snow is such a boring, cookie-cutter villain. Same thing in the books.

Utilizing Caesar to weave in Suzanne Collins's exposition was a good move. It made the narrative more organic and reinforced that television show vibe. Kudos there.

I temper that by saying that the movie rarely trusts the audience to figure things out on their own. 

Do we really need to cut back to Gale in District 12 every time Katniss and Peeta share an intimate moment? Mr. Ross desperately wants to drive home that Gale is jealous of the local Pillsbury Doughboy. 

I get that Liam Hemsworth is pretty, but c'mon. Don't need to keep showing me that he's sore. Should've cut these unnecessary additions and kept the Avox stuff.

The hallucinations are in that same vein. Houses exploding. Caesar waltzing out of the bushes like he's a Peeping Tom. 

Mr. Ross, you are trying too damn hard. Take a step back.

I'll finish here by saying that the film ended fast. Extremely fast. Blink and you miss it. Barely any dialogue. Not so much easing to a stop as stomping on the brakes. It's more than a little jarring.

Mechanics & Structure

Something that occurred to me in this latest watchthrough was the music. Or, rather, the lack thereof. 

We get a track at the beginning of the film as the camera jerkily pans around District 12. Some during actions scenes. None of it memorable.

That's not to say the lack of music is always bad. In fact, there are a few disorienting scenes that cut audio completely to great effect. For instance, the start of the Games where teens are getting sliced to bits beside the Cornucopia. Awesome design choice there.

However, in longer scenes, I found myself pining for... something. Something to chew on. Something to fit the mood. They could've slapped in some ambient background noises at least. But everything is strangely silent. Uniformly so. 

Doesn't matter if we're in District 12, the Capitol, or in the Games. Everything is silent. Feels like we could've utilized audio to drive home the contrast between the settings. But what do I know?

We have to wait till Mockingjay to slap The Hanging Tree on everything. The Hunger Games is definitely not a worthy successor to Harry Potter in the music department, lemme tell you.

The pacing of events is weird. Katniss sets out to find Peeta in one scene. You'd think such a task would take ages in the Hunger Games arena. Since. You know. It is huge place. One that the gamemakers measure in kilometers.

Nope. She finds him in the next scene without issue. This comes right after Rue's storyline which, as previously stated, as also rushed. So. Yeah.

I mostly analyze story on these blogs, but what is going on with the lighting? Especially in nighttime scenes.

What is this? Katniss and Peeta are getting backlit by a spotlight, apparently. Meanwhile there is moonlight(?) in front and below them??

Mr. Ross uses a healthy amount of shaky, Amphetamines cam. Too much, in my opinion. Should not be using it during calm scenes around District 12. Save it for the action set pieces, please and thank you.

Conclusion

So those are my thoughts for The Hunger Games film adaptation. I realize I tossed out a lot of criticisms, but I do think it's a great film that is a lot of fun. I will never tire of seeing Katniss drop fools in the Hunger Games.

But it feels as though the door was open to go that extra mile. To add that additional spice and secret sauce that made Suzanne Collins's book an iconic piece of teen media. A piece of media that utterly revolutionized a genre. The blueprint is all there. 

Many of these opportunities were either pared back or weren't taken. In this respect, Mr. Ross's adaptation let me down.

And apologies for this being a day late. Been a hectic week, and I had a LOT of thoughts to jot down for this one. Hope you enjoyed the rides, friend. See you on the next one.

🟩 Rating: 8/10