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| Monday, July 1, 2013 01:33 PM |
| (Last updated on Monday, July 1, 2013 01:54 PM) | | On the Viewer - The Hunger Games |
 by Fëanor |
(UPDATE: Oops! I should have mentioned - spoilers!!!)
I finally got to watch this! Obviously it is not as good as the book, because movies never are (except that one time *cough* Blade Runner! *cough*), but it is still quite good. It captures the look of the world very well - the filthy, gray District 12; the excessively colorful and sleekly modern Capitol. I was curious how they would convey the essential information that the book conveys via Katniss' thoughts, and they find various clever methods of doing so, like cutting over to the Gamemakers - including Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) - manipulating things in the control room; accompanying the gifts that are sent by mentors and sponsors with written notes ("Call that a kiss?" Ha!); and letting us see some of the television broadcast, with on-air banter between Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) and Claudius Templesmith (Toby Jones). We even get to see some secret conferences between Crane and President Snow (Donald Sutherland), which are fascinating and reveal some of the politics going on behind the scenes. It's all quite brilliant and forward-thinking, as besides merely filling us in on important info, it also prepares us for what's to come in the future films. Later on we even get a glimpse of an uprising, which is something Katniss didn't even hear a whisper of until the second book in the series.
Speaking of Katniss, Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic in the part - by turns angry, delicate, and dangerous. I only wish she was a slightly better singer, as that's a rather important characteristic of Katniss in the book. I also quite love the way they captured the outrageous, manners-obsessed Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, who is utterly unrecognizable). Casting Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy was a stroke of genius. I didn't love his introductory scene (why didn't he get to throw up on stage?), but his character gets stronger and more interesting as the movie goes on. I was a little disappointed in the casting of Peeta; for whatever reason, Josh Hutcherson didn't quite fit my vision of the character. But once I got used to him, I liked him okay, too.
One of my favorite scenes in the book - the one where Katniss shoots the apple out of the pig's mouth - is also one of my favorites in the movie. It's almost perfectly realized. I also found the Rue sequence just as powerful here as I did in the book, although I wish there could have been more scenes between her and Katniss, and I really missed the gift of the bread and Katniss giving thanks for it, as that was extremely moving and meaningful. I felt like Katniss talking to Rue and learning about life in her district was also very important, and that was missing.
An interesting added scene reveals that it's partly Haymitch's intervention that convinces Crane to change the rules and allow for two victors. I was a little disappointed we lost the scene where Katniss was forced to drug Peeta so she could get away to the banquet, but I can see why it was taken out. We're also missing one of the creepiest touches from the book - that the muttations at the end have the faces of the dead tributes. It seems like this would have been relatively easy to do with computer effects, but maybe they tried it and it looked goofy or something. I thought the ending of the film felt a bit rushed and poorly paced, with a sudden jump cut from the Cornucopia to the top of a building in the Capitol, and then mere minutes later, we're back in District 12. I did like the subtle way they closed off Seneca Crane's story, though, intercut with Haymitch warning Katniss about how seriously they take these things.
As I've mentioned already, a number of essential things have been changed or left out. Now Katniss just finds the Mockingjay pin randomly in a market, and actually gives it to Prim for luck, who then gives it back to her again before she leaves for the Games. I think I actually like this change, as it adds poignancy and a strong emotional connection to the pin. Anyway, they almost had to cut out Madge's character. One thing that I really miss, though, is the scene where Katniss reveals to Peeta that she was basically faking it for the cameras. This was a painful and important scene. But maybe they will put it into the opening of the second movie instead. |
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