Review of The Hunger Games (2012) by Max G — 04 Nov 2018

A Real Killer.

The Hunger Games: A movie adaptation of the book by Suzanne Collins.

The Hunger Games, directed by Garry Ross, is a movie adaptation of the book, The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins. The main character and protagonist Katniss Everdeen is thrown into a bloodbath between 24 teenagers where she is not only learning things the hard way, but she is maturing enough to preserve her life. While The Hunger Games shines a critical light on violence, it can also teach young adults that killing and violence can be fun, a growing problem in today's society.

The film is set in a postbellum world where the United States of America is now Panem, a country divided into 12 districts. Panem is controlled by a single president living within the nation's capital, safe from starvation and suffering, unlike the twelve districts. In district 12, Katniss's home, death by starvation was not uncommon, unlike death by old age which was saved for only the mayor and his wealthy family.

To control the districts from another uprising, Panem holds an annual Hunger Games, a competition where two tributes from each district to compete in a fight to the death where only one tribute wins, gaining honor for their district, everlasting riches, and a house in the Victors Village.

Katniss volunteers to participate in the games to save her 12-year-old sister from fighting. She shows many signs of disgust towards the government and the Hunger Games (i.e., in the opening of the movie where she and her friend Gale can be seen jeering at the government). This shows how wrong violence can be. The movie also shows the viewers the emotional trauma violence can cause people (i.e., when Katniss is inside the games she breaks down many times crying and wishing she were dead).

While Katniss openly detests killing and violence during the movie, some of the other tributes can be seen doing the opposite. The career tributes, tributes who have been trained their whole lives to win the games can be seen joking about killing and even argue about who should get the chance to kill another tribute.

In the 2-hour and 22-minute long movie, the director and actors are able to convey the cons of violence while accidentally conveying that violence can be fun at the same time. The Hunger Games is a fun and entertaining movie that is sure to be enjoyed by anyone who likes action and romance movies, although it could be drastically improved to be an appropriate movie with a better message to adolescents.