The Hunger Games (2012)

The Hunger Games opened last weekend with record breaking numbers, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Based on the three book series by Susanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay), the film had incredibly big shoes to fill. The first book especially is freakin’ fantastic and will engage readers of all ages despite the fact that heroine and main character, Katniss Everdeen, is only sixteen years old.

The story of The Hunger Games centers around Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) struggling to keep her family together and alive after the death of her father. Every year the Capital requires that each district in the country offer up one boy and one girl between 12-18 years old as a tribute to The Hunger Games, a “game” in which the children fight to the death as televised entertainment. When Katniss’ little sister’s name is called as tribute, she steps in to volunteer in her stead. Off to the games she goes with 23 other tributes, and may the odds be ever in her favor.

Fans of the book will be extremely pleased with the film interpretation of The Hunger Games. It stays true to the original material while making a few tweaks here and there, and Jennifer Lawrence did a mind-blowingly powerful performance as Katniss. It would have been easy for the character to come off as quite a bitch since she can occasionally be a cold character, and the film audience isn’t in her head like the books are, but Lawrence’s subdued and conflicted performance added warmth to the character.

The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen is one of the best heroines in fiction. She’s strong willed, skilled with a bow, and takes care of herself instead of others protecting the “helpless” girl. The film doesn’t take any of that strength away either, and it’s awesome to see a heroine saving her helpless male lead for a change.

The Hunger Games film is a must watch. Watch the film, then go out and buy the books if you haven’t read those already. Don’t worry about it being too gruesome because the film keeps the violence to a minimum and rather tasteful given the subject matter. The film features a strong story, a few tasty bites of action, and a super fantastic heroine. What are you waiting for?

Action Rating: 1 Mockingjay pin, out of 5.

Overall Rating of how good of a movie it is: 5 Mockingjay pins, out of 5. Note: I might be a little biased since I’m a huge fan of the books and of badass action chicks.