The Hunger Games (2012)

Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete.

Director:

Gary Ross

Writers:

Gary Ross (screenplay), Suzanne Collins (screenplay),

Stars:

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 33 wins & 40 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stanley Tucci	...	Caesar Flickerman
Wes Bentley	...	Seneca Crane
Jennifer Lawrence	...	Katniss Everdeen
Willow Shields	...	Primrose Everdeen
Liam Hemsworth	...	Gale Hawthorne
Elizabeth Banks	...	Effie Trinket
Sandra Ellis Lafferty	...	Hob Vendor (as Sandra Lafferty)
Paula Malcomson	...	Katniss' Mother
Rhoda Griffis	...	Registration Woman
Sandino Moya	...	Propaganda Film Tribute (as Sandino Moya-Smith)
Josh Hutcherson	...	Peeta Mellark
Raiko Bowman	...	Peeta's Mother
Dwayne Boyd	...	Peacekeeper #1
Anthony Reynolds	...	Peacekeeper #2
Judd Lormand	...	Peacekeeper #3

Storyline

In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.

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Plot Keywords:

game | fight | fight to the death | massacre | self survival | 

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Taglines:

May the Odds be Ever in your Favor

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2012 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Los juegos del hambre

Filming Locations:

Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$78,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$152,535,747 (USA) (23 March 2012)

Gross:

$407,999,255 (USA) (31 August 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Color Force

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fictional nation in the film is called Panem. This is derived from "Panem et Circenses," or "Bread and Circuses," which comes from the latter days of the Roman Empire, in which the government would keep the masses satisfied not by performing their public services well, but by providing violent and deadly entertainments for the people to watch, which is rather fitting for the subject matter of the film.

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Goofs

After Katniss receives her first gift from the sponsors, she leaves the container slightly opened. The next morning as she is climbing the tree past that same canister, it is fully closed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Seneca Crane: I think it's our tradition. It comes out of a particularly painful part of our history...
Caesar Flickerman: Yes.
Seneca Crane: ...but it's been the way we're able to heal.

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Connections

Referenced in Pastor Mike Online: Episode #1.69 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Horn of Plenty
Written by Win Butler and Régine Chassagne
Performed by Arcade Fire

User Reviews

Slow and predictable

It goes unsaid that the book is almost always better than the film. This movie is unique in the fact that it is much worse than the book. I'm not a fan of the latest fad of teen literature to begin with, but being a science fiction fan and a lover of the movie Battle Royale, I had high hopes for this. The word "hype" doesn't even begin to summarize how much attention and praise this movie has received, and it definitely did not deliver. The lead actress was great and the idea of a bleak future landscape separated into districts to keep the population in check is a great story. But the film didn't tell that story well. We get only flashes of how or why this system game into place or what the "hunger games" purpose actually is. It was very slow, very predictable even if you hadn't read the book and had virtually no action. The fight scenes it did have were quick flashes that if combined total two or so minutes of the movie. And don't get me started on the awful CGI of the "killer dogs" at the end.