Film Vs Book:

The multi-million dollar question is does it work? Numbers at the box office so far are giving a resounding Yes! We agree. This has all the ear markings of great trilogy – oops change that – 2 trilogies! The studio has just decided on a total of six more films in the trilogy, three each for the remaining books Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Expect to see Catching Fire Part 1 with a November 2013 release and the final film Mockingjay Part 3 in 2019. Jennifer Lawrence and director Gary Ross have both signed on for all six movies. Gary Ross has mentioned some unusual twists for the future screen versions including a possible musical and a silent film. Hmmm – don’t let these early, heady box office days go to your head. The audience does know best.

Yes! The 2 hours and 22 minutes in the theatre was well spent and No! – It’s not ‘just for the kiddies’.

How can the book and the film be true to each other and the film preserve a PG13 rating when 23 children’s/adolescents will hunt each other to the death and the events will form a publicly televised spectacle? Here’s where compromises had to be made between book and screen. It is sometimes inevitable that a film loses depth, emotions and details found in a book. What has been left to the reader’s imagination in The Hunger Games book is not a tragic loss to the film. The film doesn’t skimp on the story, following the book’s events closely and adding some new comedic elements. Stanley Tucci is engaging and entertaining as the Master Ceremonies/interviewer for the Games. Caesar Flickerman and Elizabeth Banks‘, Effie Trinket also create comic relief as the caretakers/escorts and mentors to the tributes.  A brilliant visual addition to the movie were the “game makers” in their war room/control room, creating the technology through 3D imaging that create real and terrifying obstacles in the Hunger Games arena.

The acting is good but do not expect any “best actor” Oscar nominations from a cast that is an interesting combination of well known acclaimed actors and unknowns. This does not diminish the story and actually adds some interest. Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss, and she holds the screen, bringing just the right balance of strength and vulnerability to the character. The character that really caught our attention is Liam Hemsworth who plays Gale, Katniss’s closest friend. The good looking Aussie has little screen time in the first movie but when he turns his smoldering gaze on the screen we certainly hope to see a lot more of him. Josh Hutcherson is quite charming as Peeta Mellark, a character who comes off as a bit more mysterious on the page than on the screen. There is a lot of character development to do there.