Starvation Games

I can see the filmmakers including the script writers (of which the author Suzanne Collins is a member) made a great deal and effort in transforming the first book of the trilogy into live action and it was never that easy. Was it a good movie? I believe so, to rate it among the ranks of the Young Adult genre but clearly it wasn't that great. This film made me realize that we can't simply rely on a good writer to make a good film, and vice versa. The story we imagined from words sometimes is different from visions of the director.

The main flaw I saw in this film is the struggle between the target audience and the theme (young adult and mandatory killing), leading to the filmmakers' decision to stand in-between. The filmmakers clearly made a safer strategy by making the death scenes aseptic and portraying the actors as if they were "acting." Jennifer Lawrence is a very pretty actress and playing the role of Katniss would have been perfect if she was immersed fully into the rural environment of District 12. Nature is her element and I want to see Katniss at home in the jungle. Yes, she can climb the trees and embrace the earth but the way she ran into the woods made me think differently. Her move wasn't that smooth as a sneaking hunter, it's more like a student running late for school. That hallucination scene also needs to be improved. I imagined that part in the book as highly an internal experience and seeing Katniss' visions from 2nd to 3rd person perspective is kinda weak.Understandably, this movie generally caters to the young, screaming, giggling and blushing viewers who have to choose sides between Team Peeta or Team Gale.

Don't get me wrong. I give a shit for this movie because I enjoyed the book when I first read it in 2009. I still have to read the Japanese book Battle Royale and see its adaptation for further comparisons. Perhaps Saoirse Ronan's portrayal of Hanna could have set a better standard as a young huntress but Katniss' nature is to hunt animals while Hanna, to kill people. That's a big difference.


Rating: 7 out of 10
Genre: Sci Fi, Dystopia, YA