The Hunger Games is an awesome movie, indeed not since the final credits rolled on the first Lord of the Rings movie, have I left a movie theatre so desperate to see the sequel. This is not your standard blockbuster, it has things intelligent to say, quality acting and a great cast. It also has the feel of an indie movie - less glossy than Twilight, more adult than Potter.
The story is set in a dystopian North America, some years in the future. As a result of a peace accord, two teens in each district are selected to take part in the "hunger games": A grim reality television show in which the twenty-four participants head to the capitol and then fight to the death, until just one is left standing. A sort of bastardised offspring of The Apprentice and Lord of the Flies.
There are many similarities to previous movies; within the games there are echoes of The Running Man; the playing god aspects of TV were handled in a similarly excellent way in The Truman Show, and there is more than a little hint of Romeo + Juliet within the central characters. The vision of the future felt a little like A:I.
Another movie I was reminded of was Never Let Me Go. There were similar issues of how man can turn its back on humanity, and descend into horrendous immorality.
It was genius not to show any of actual games footage in the publicity before the movies release. When the games start, it hits you like a train. The grimness of kid attacking kid is as brutal as anything I have seen on screen in a long time. The cast is uniformly excellent. The central pairing of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are engaging, and with Liam Hemsworth on the sidelines, there are definite hints of a future love triangle. Amongst the less sympathetic teens, Alexander Ludwig deserves a mention for his great performance.
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