The Hunger Games - Movie Review

**SPOILER ALERT**

I am by no means a professional reviewer, but I do know what I like and what I don't like. Everybody's tastes are different and everybody has different criticisms but in the end it's what you thought that matters most. I am very much the type of girl who reads before I see a movie (in most cases) and this time was no different. The Hunger Games has been a highly anticipated movie ever since they announced that it was going to the big screen. With all the hype from Harry Potter (amazing) to Twilight (not so amazing), it was a toss-up when it came to
whether or not they could pull this off.

The Hunger Games is the first in a series of three books which revolves around a young Katniss Everdeen. A 17-year-old girl trying to keep her family together in a dystopian era after her father was killed in a mining accident. Panem, the world formerly known as North America resides in a totalitarian society where the government rules all and says all. The Hunger Games represents each district's chance to show their loyalty by electing (drawing randomly) a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to represent their district in a fight to the death. Each tribute must show their worth, their cleverness and their loyalty to their district by killing off all the other tributes until there is only one.

The opening scenes show Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her longtime friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) hunting in the woods, trying to find food to survive. The sad but simple life that they've lived every day before them. On the day of the "Reaping" Katniss then volunteers herself as tribute when her young sister's name gets called. Bravery and loyalty for her family brought her forth but will she really survive?

 Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) join 22 other tributes in the Capitol of Panem as "star-crossed lovers". At the hint of a past together, they play upon the strings of Panem's heart and become a quick favourite for the games. Throughout the movie you see Katniss' struggle with wanting to survive for her family and not wanting to kill other tributes. But of course survival wins as she fights to save herself from a raging forest fire, a sting from a Tracker Jacker and of course the other Tributes.

I'm sure you all know what the end is like.

As I said there will be critics who liked the movie and critics who don't. I for one thought it was extremely satisfying even if they did miss a few points and didn't really venture off into new territory. I will say the one disappointment was not seeing the "clock" feature that was in the books. Each "section" of the stadium had some sort of heavy-duty natural disaster that affected the outcome of the Tributes and their coruse of play. Yes they did a hint of it with the fire and the creatures at the end, but it in no way encompassed the rest of what happened.  Other than that, the director was very by-the-book. Everything seemed to be in place, including the dialog. The difference I found, between The Hunger Games and Twilight was the level of acting that took place in the movie. Yes it's one thing to have a cast of well known characters, it's a whole other story if they can act. With Jennifer Lawrence in the hotseat coming off her debut from Winter's Bones, she played her character to a T. She got Katniss spot on when it came to her passion, her inner war of right and wrong and her instinct for survival. I could not be any happier with their choice. You also have characters like Cinna (played by a very understated Lenny Kravitz) and President Snow (Donald Sutherland), who may only have had a few minutes of screen time, but helped to build the character of the movie.

The two things that got to me most had to have been the costume design and the score. Besides the acting, if you don't have believable characters then there's no point in having a movie at all. Some people may have found the change in costume from District 12 (drab mining garb) to District 1 (outrageously coloured and bold) a little drastic but if you've read any of the books, you'd understand that the outrageous clothing is exactly what is called for. Not only does it represent that District 1 (also known as the Capitol) is the richest of all the districts but it's also the district that is in control. Same goes for the make-up. While it may have seemed gaudy and unrealistic, it's absolutely perfect.

Anybody can watch a scary movie if you turn off the sound. Have you ever watched a scary movie on mute? You can add your own dialogue and make it your own. You can make it from a horror story to a comedy. The music is always important to me because it's the reason why your heart races or causes you to jump at an extremely intense moment. The score for The Hunger Games was thrilling, passionate and at times sad. You could feel the goosebumps and the pain and everything in between. I don't know about you but I was definitely impressed.

Overall the movie is a great watch, for those who've read the books and for those who haven't. I look forward to seeing the  reviews of fans and the reaction of the film industry. I really hope it gains enough buzz to allow Lionsgate to continue on with the other two books. I think they'll be an excellent series to add to my movie collection!

Taryn