Alice says: I WANT TO BOTTLE IT UP I LOVE IT SO!
So what did I think of the movie?
It is going to be hard to wrangle all my thoughts into a cohesive review but I did wait three days so as to let it all sink in. Here are my thoughts:
Adaptation: I loved this adaptation. Adapting any movie is difficult, especially when people are very much attached to a book (series, characters, ect), but this is one of the best that I have seen. The movie stands alone. If you have never read the books, you could easily go see the film and know exactly what is going on and not feel left out or miss huge chunks of anything. That is the mark of a great adaptation. The Harry Potters (whom I LURVE and ADORE) never really pulled that off. They were stunning visual aids but missed HUGE plot points that you had to fill in with your own reading experience or your best friend right next to you at the movie theater (think the Marauder backstory or even the horcruxes). So BRAVO for the adaptation!
Characters: Ok…so…as it will always happens in every movie….character development tends to suffer–but I am pulling teeth here to complain because this was like a 90 out of 100 for me. It is there. Everyone will walk away understanding that President Snow is bad, Katniss is good, Peeta and Gale are too and both care for Katniss. What is left out is layers– and sometimes more layers would only take mins to build in a film. Sometimes that is frustrating. That is a tradeoff in film.
Katniss was pretty much on point. YAY for Jennifer Lawrence pulling this off. I did not want you Jennifer. I didn’t. You were too VAVAVoom for me, too tall, too well fed (disclaimer: I do not advocate eating disorders or anything of the sort, but this is hollywood, typecasting is typcasting. She did NOT look the part to me). YOU BLEW ME AWAY. In every shot you looked vulnerable, petrified, hardened, scared, hungry, pissed…..I could go on and on. I LOVED YOU. You were my mockingjay. You also looked beautiful when you were in the Capitol, while still looking incredibly young. I believed you were at least 17 (not 16 though…..lol).
Peeta was perfect. Josh Hutchinson was the Peeta I imagined. He was self-deprecating and yet stong in his own way. Still, he was kinda useless in the arena while still being loveable. I liked his performance so much. I liked Liam Hemsworth as Gale as well. With barely 3 mins of screen time I thought he was strong and not just a pretty face (I loved the decision to have him not watch Katniss at the cornucopia and then to defiantly hold Prim up at the end of the film).
Rue. Rue needed more time. This is one of my complaints. There was not enough time to develop her relationship with Katniss and I was upset about the 2 mins more it would have taken to do so. I was thrilled with how her death was portrayed and LOVED the added scenes of rebellion. BRILLIANT! I just wished they had developed 2 more mins of them playing in the forest a bit and maybe a lead-in to them cuddling at night. ANYTHING to lead in to how devastating her death is to Katniss and to Rue.
President Snow was perfect. I know people wanted someone scarier but he is a POLITICIAN. He is going to be calculated. And seriously–what is scarier that the scene with the nightlock at the end? This man is BRUTAL.
I thought the cave scene needed a bit more development as well. We needed a larger sense that Katniss and Peeta might not be on the same page. This scene is the one that builds it all. I think this is missed by non-readers–the fact that Peeta really IS that in love and Katniss really is a bit DENSE and confused and fighting for their lives but confused (did I mentioned confused already?). OH, and she is hungry. 2 more mins could have fleshed this out.
Cato- I didn’t complain about the violence in THG and how it was done. I was one of the people that understood that the point of this entire thing was to NOT glorify violence. I thought it was tasteful (as child deaths go, you know)–but this death takes HOURS. It took seconds here. Seriously, have Peeta and Katniss hold each other while the mutts kill him. It was a symbolic death. It showed exactly how cruel those people in that directing room (and the Capitol) could be. I did love his speech about how he wanted to die because there was nothing he could go home to proud about. AMEN CATO, AMEN.
I loved all the supporting cast. Effie, Cinna, Haymitch–you made me swoon!!! Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, and Woody Harrelson were spectacular. The standout performance among the supporting cast though was Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman. Honestly, he builds the entire disconnect of the Capitol and the districts for the viewer. It was just amazeballs! Also– as far as funny lines: THAT IS MAHOGANY!
ISSUES: I did have an issue with the Careers. I did not like the human hunting and laughing about it. I never pictured them like that. I pictured them in survival mode together…killing whoever they came across and then knowing they would have to then fight each other–but it was not meant to be a deranged band of popular kids going kid hunting and then cuddling at night. Seriously? Something about it felt off. We should feel for ALL the kids in that arena. I remember not LIKING Cato and Clove but never feeling like there was a band of psycho killers on the loose in there.
Set Design and Costume: The set designs and costume designs were beautiful, as were the locations. District 12 was exactly as I pictured it and the Captiol was futuristic enough yet similar enough to our own world to fit the dystopian worlds I love. I also loved the toning down of how it was described in the book (the look of it all). This made it more tangible–more real.
Overall–I approved!
I can’t wait till Catching FIRE!!!!! Fix what I didn’t like please (because my opinion is the end all–obviously).
What did you think? Paint the Roses!
Tags: Cinna, Effie, Gale, Haymitch, Hunger Games, Hunger Games Movie, Jennifer Lawrence, Katniss, Lionsgate, Movie Review, Peeta
It’s time for a ROAD TRIP AGAIN!! We are heading over to YA Highway for their weekly question!
Rabbit Hole Review 