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:

Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 27 wins & 30 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 | volunteer | future | 16 year old | fight | 

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Taglines:

May the Odds be Ever in your Favor

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images - all involving teens

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los juegos del hambre

Filming Locations:

Cedar 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

Panem is located in a post-apocalyptic North America whose land mass has been reduced by rising sea levels. It is generally agreed that the Capitol is in the Rocky Mountains, possibly Colorado, and that the District 12 town where Katniss grew up is somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, possibly Kentucky or West Virginia.

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Goofs

During the speech from an instructor before the tributes commence their training, Glimmer can be seen to have a pimple on her right cheek, near her chin. This is gone when she is on with Caesar Flickerman, but it could have been covered with makeup. When Katniss is chased up a tree, Glimmer can be seen without the pimple on her cheek, but she has one on her throat, right under her chin, where she didn't have one before. Then, when she laughs at Cato by the campfire, she has a pimple on her right cheek again.

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Quotes

President Snow: And so it was decreed that each year, the various districts of Panem would offer up in tribute, one young man and woman to fight to the death in a pageant of honor, courage and sacrifice.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Review: Episode #1.2 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Safe & Sound"
Written by Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams and T-Bone Burnett (as T Bone Burnett)
Performed by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars
Produced by T-Bone Burnett (as T Bone Burnett)
Courtesy of Big Machine Records, LLC

User Reviews

Battle Royale Lite

Not comparing this to Battle Royale is impossible - the premise is too similar to be ignored. I'm extremely biased as well, considering Battle Royale is one of my all-time favorite films/books/graphic novels. So let's get this rant out of the way: The Hunger Games takes the concept of Battle Royale and waters it down to a product more accessible to a wider audience, specifically the younger crowd. My biggest problem with this is it loses the impact of Battle Royale - a frightening, beautiful, orgiastic display of shocking violence and social commentary. What makes it so twisted is that the contestants are all fellow students and friends, and we get to know many of the students, making their deaths more disturbing. In The Hunger Games, we follow two contestants and the rest are nameless, and with the exception of one young black girl, their deaths are meaningless (and mostly off-screen). The fact that the violence is so much more tame seems irresponsible - we don't see how horrific and terrifying it would be. The characters in The Hunger Games are black-and-white, good and evil with no grey areas, whereas the characters in Battle Royale feature heroes, antiheroes, complete monsters, and terrified teens. They're plunged into a situation and act like normal teens would, freaking out, committing suicide, going ax crazy, professing love, etc.

As a film, The Hunger Games is certainly not bad - it's a well-made, well-acted spectacle that is entertaining albeit predictable. It takes its time getting to the action, but when the contestants are finally released it's thrilling (there's also a particularly intense scene involving a wasp's nest). It's probably the best we can expect from what a predictable Hollywood remake of Battle Royale would look like - significantly toned down, with a gorgeous cast, and a soundtrack featuring Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, and a couple good indie bands (as opposed to Battle Royale's classical music). I also like that The Hunger Games focuses more on the media aspect of the game, which was mostly ignored in Battle Royale. It's much less melodramatic than Battle Royale as well. The bizarre costume designs are great too.

TL;DR - It all comes down to taste. If you prefer fantasy stories, don't like subtitles, and have no desire to see kids kill each other in over-the-top gory fashion, you'll like The Hunger Games. If you're a fan of horror, exploitation, or extreme Asian cinema, you'll like Battle Royale. I prefer the latter, but The Hunger Games could've been a lot worse.