The Hunger Games: hungry for more

I’ve never read The Hunger Games. And, honestly, I thought the fuss everyone was making over it was a bit ridiculous. But believe me, this is not a movie to miss. I’ll be brief and try not to be too spoiler-y here... 


The story is intriguing, a sort of post-apocalyptic, coming-of-age, political, action love story. To give a quick overview: in the future, outlying districts of a central government are kept in abject poverty as punishment for a decades-old revolt, and as a further measure must sacrifice a young man and woman every year to play in the ‘Hunger Games’ – a vicious, bloody, televised fight to the death. Our heroine, Caitness, volunteers to replace her young sister when her name is called for the games, and here the ‘fun’ begins.

I must admit, I didn’t expect to like this one beyond a bit of light distraction, but I ended up seeing it twice. The lead actress is riveting and completely believable. The terror and confusion of the opening of the games is dizzying (literally, a lot of ShakeyCam going on there, maybe too much – one of only two complaints). The growth of her mentor from a drunken has-been to a source of guidance was wonderful to watch. And, perhaps best of all, its setup for the sequel was welcome, because I want to see more!

...oh, what’s that? My other complaint? It’s a little thing – two of the characters, one a friend and the other a foe, well... The actors cast in the two roles have a very similar appearance, which caused some confusion during a pretty big fight scene late in the film. It’s possible that they were written that way, but I doubt it. Not a comment on their abilities, both played their roles well...

Go see it, folks, and may the odds be ever in your favour.