News & Review

Well. I saw the Hunger Games premier last night with a bunch of friends. Don't worry, this is a spoiler-free review; I'm not one of those people who ruins the adventure :) So, without further ado, here's my brief recap/list of opinions.


Photo Credit: Murray Close {via}
Plot: Overall, it stayed fairly close to the novel. A lot of the dialogue was actually lifted directly from the book, which I really liked. There were a lot of details that had to be cut out, of course, because the novel is incredibly detailed and it would be nearly impossible to fit everything in the book into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. Some of the cuts were understandable, others left me feeling a little let down. The final scene in the arena was changed pretty significantly, and in my opinion the changes were not for the better. For an adaptation that otherwise stays pretty true to the original plot, switching up the climax of the storyline really doesn't make sense to me.

As for the typical Hollywood-style additions that movies love to throw in to perfectly good stories, Hunger Games largely lacks them. I was particularly concerned that the romance aspect would be way overdone, but if anything, it was downscored a bit. Which was great. They did add in a few scenes showing what was going on outside the arena during the games themselves, which was pretty interesting.

Casting/acting: Rather hit-and-miss. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss was mostly incredible; I really felt her fear as she was in the launch room. Other times, her lines felt a little contrived. And the plot to blow up the Careers' food was not really executed well by anyone in the scene. Stanley Tucci was absolutely phenomenal as Caesar Flickerman, but I might be a little biased because he's one of my absolute favorite actors. Wes Bentley also did really well as Seneca Crane, who had a much more prominent role in the film than in the book. And Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket was just wonderful. I was a little underwhelmed by Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Helmsworth), but they weren't bad. Woody Harrelson was rather disappointing as Haymitch; I had really high hopes for him, and I think he fell a bit short. But then again, his character wasn't written very well in the screenplay, so perhaps it isn't his fault.

Costuming: Oh my goodness. They were so incredible. I was pretty excited to see the Capitol citizens, and they didn't disappoint in the slightest. So outrageous and over-the-top, but stayed just within the realm of reason. Katniss' interview costumes strayed a bit from their descriptions in the novel, but really, Suzanne Collins invented such incredible gowns on the page, it would be hard to translate them to reality.

Overall impression:If you haven't read the books, you'll probably love the film. It's well-written, compelling and a great story. If you did read the books, you may still quite enjoy the film, despite the plot deviations. But if you're a real purist, you'll probably walk away with a few let-downs, as I did.

Oh, and I did mention some news in my title, didn't I? Well, I got a call from my sister just before the movie started last night...Her boyfriend proposed!!! I am seriously beside myself with excitement. My lil sis is growing up. *tear* And her boyfriend fiancé is the greatest guy. I couldn't be happier for them. And now, I'm off to pin a million wedding things and live vicariously through her. I love the idea of weddings, and doing all the planning (wedding planner is legit one of my back-up career options), but I'm not really looking to get married myself yet. Let the obsessive pinning begin!