Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
‘Astonishing Adaptation’
“The Hunger Games” is directed by Gary Ross. Its screenplay is written by Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray. The screenplay is an adaptation of a novel by Suzanne Collins. This film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson, and Woody Harrelson. Its plot is set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and a girl from the twelve districts to fight to death on live television. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to take her sister’s place for the latest match.
Gary Ross has impressively turned a fantastic novel into a great film. He directs this film with a sense of knowledge and understanding of the characters and events. Each shot is breathtaking; capturing the expression and detail on each actor’s face. The cinematography is fine; the shaky camera is slightly irritating, yet it instantly absorbs you into the atmosphere of this film. Dark, intense, and suspenseful; it can be disturbing and at times hard to watch. However, with an excellent cast, great direction, and stunning visual effects, this film captures the main gist of the book.
Jennifer Lawrence delivers a fantastic performance as Katniss Everdeen. Lawrence does full justice to her character and enhances this film. Her expressions, feelings, and personality are very well shown. Josh Hutcherson is fine as Peeta Mellark. Hutcherson does a good job in interpreting his character’s relationship with Katniss, but unfortunately, he isn’t given enough characterization. Both Lawrence and Hutcherson display immense screen presence and undeniable chemistry throughout this film. Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson are great in their roles and shine out the most from the supporting cast. The rest of the cast including Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, and Wes Bentley is passable.
The visual effects are stunning and bring forth the tone of the book. Some of the scenes in the games (e.g. the forest and woods) are beautiful and very well put together.
“The Hunger Games” is overall a very faithful adaptation of the book. It suffers from a few flaws such as the extended length and under-developed characters, but otherwise it is by far one of the most entertaining films of 2012. Here’s a movie that stands as an independent film and a great book-to-film adaptation. Recommended for fans of the popular novel.
Nearly 30 years following publications of literature about hungry teenagers competing in competitive games putting lives in danger, it’s a powerful tribute towards a timeless book that changed the world forever.
4/5 stars
The Film Buff 
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