Ok, here it comes…
The Hunger Games is a stupid movie.
There I said it.
This isn’t to necessarily take a crap on Susanne Collins’s novel. I kind of like the combination of Shirley Jackson’s classic The Lottery with a Thesius type story.
Let me take a step back, the story is set in a future where North America (I think) is one giant nation controlled wholesale by a technoligically advanced capitol. The entire rest of the nation is divided into specific districts who are 2nd and 3rd class citizens, and due to a rebellion in the past they are required to offer up one boy and one girl to participate in a Survivor/Royal Rumble extravaganza each year. The selection process is borrowed from The Lottery and the tribute from Thesius. (note: I mean no disparagement, good writing is knowing from whom to steal) The whole thing has a reality show package, combining elements of Dancing with the Stars and Survivor in a technoligically enhanced gladitoral free for all.
Anyway, why is the movie stupid?
1) They pussify the combat. The book was written for young adults and all the authorial laziness that entails (nod to Steve King). But it was visceral. If you make a movie about how a sick culture makes children beat each other to death on live telivision, you can’t pull punches. It’s supposed to horrify people. Other than the knife throwing girl, the actual combat was boring as shit. And what’s up with my boy Thresh having an American accent and dying off screen? (note: don’t write me and say they were going for a PG-13 rating to make more money. What the fuck do I give a shit, I’m in the thing for the story and glossing over the horrible deaths of children does a diservice to the story. I’m unconcerned about the financial viability of anything, I just want the best film possible. Take a lesson in film making from Mel Gibson and don’t be a pussy)
2) You have to do some world building. The film doesn’t have the benifit of Katniss’s interior monologue and the film itself does not do a great job about explaining its environment. I don’t need voice over but the telling of the story should shape the environment. I don’t need an explanation of the 3 fingered sign (that was kind of cool) but they needed to work in some explanation of the various cultures at play here. And do a better job of reflecting the differences in culture. Other than having some people pink and rich and everyone else Winter’s Bone. Also everyone had the same accent, though some people inexplicably faked a British one. The novel has several scenes (hairdressers for one) that flesh out some of the culture. You can’t assume viewers have read the novel. The film has to stand on its own merits or it’s stupid.
3) Peeta’s supposed to be kind of a chunk. He’s a fattish baker’s kid so nobody can tell there’s actually some twisted steel under the soft. Because Peeta’s actually pretty strong. The kid who played Peeta cannot portray strong. He’d lose a fight to a 10 year old girl. Bad casting.
4) The nuances of Katniss’s strategy regarding Peeta are one of the more interesting parts of the story and the film leaves you to guess at them. Her strategy was explicit, and in this case it harms the story (and is lazy) not to include her premeditation.
5) Boring. The training was boring, the interviews were boring, the clothes on fire was boring, and for the most part the fucking fighting was boring. This is a movie about glorified death. There were a million opportunites to disturb the audience. Instead I got the impression of plastic things vaguely complaining for most of the movie and no battle payoff once we finally get to the arena. Somebody do something interesting for fuck’s sake.
Here’s what worked: the reaping (selection). I believed that scene. Stanley Tucci is always awesome (he’s the play by play guy). And the riot in District 11. I believed that as well. The rest of the film was softer than Nickolodeon.
And once again, don’t give me that shit about it being a kid’s movie. That’s the same lame excuse George Lucas uses. Lazy is still lazy. Fine, you don’t want to show a bunch of violence. You have to replace the violence with something else interesting otherwise it’s just fucking boring. Now the movie has made a mint already and nobody listens to me anyway, but this movie is stupid. Lazy and stupid.
If you haven’t seen it, don’t waste the money.