So I haven't read these books
and am not on the hype wagon of the Hunger
Games phenomenon, therefore, didn't really know anything about
this movie going into it. I chose to watch it as the sequel is coming out soon
and the entire world seems to be going nuts for it like it’s a Harry Potter or
something and so it seemed I had better catch up.
Given this green point of view I only have one question: WTF? I don’t get it. It’s like a new genre of fiction has been created: kiddie horror. I mean the plot as I understand it, is that a tournament exists in which kids, underage kids, are supposed to maim, decapitate, burn or rip apart with their bare hands all of the other kids before it happens to them. But, it’s like a PG movie in America? Kids love it and want to be Katniss and like I said before, WTF? I understand censorship is there to "protect" bad ideas from being presented to kids before they age a bit more and can safely realise it’s all fiction, but just removing the site of blood and stopping them from swearing doesn’t mean you can still have horrific visions of a young black girl dying in the arms of Katniss after being brutally murdered by a strong young teenager glorifying in the act. I have serious problems with how censorship is governed anyway but this is a whole new level of craziness.
It seems that these types of movies are representing a young generation rebelling out at the confusion in the world taken to a whole new level. For my generation it was movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Predator or Jaws that you got your fix of scary death and killing, and these were obviously not targeted at the age group I was in then. You had to sneak in a VHS tape owned by an older brother of a friend and watch it with the sound turned down, shitting your pants in the living room, hoping your mates Mum wouldn't walk in and catch you.
Now its gone mainstream, removed the actual entertaining parts of the gore and scare, targeted it at younger audiences and added much harsher themes of rejection, destroyed families, bullying, exclusion and grief. I mean again, WTF? I would much prefer to watch a straight up horror with people eating monkey brains and all the silly over the top special effects that goes along with that and know it’s not real and only feel that strange excitement of seeing something totally unrealistic yet horrifying. But, broken families, bullying and grief are all too real and shouldn’t be glorified in this way.
This movie really shook me up the wrong way. I don’t understand why it’s so popular and it concerns me. If it was a straight up adventure game or a fun take on a tournament like this where the kids are all simulations and not actually dying then I think it would be fantastic. The filming and acting and effects and sets were all really well put together, but why are we introducing and celebrating all of these moral hardships to young minds as if they are normal? I find it totally weird and unsettling, unless I’m missing something?
SCORE: 5/10
IMDB Info for The Hunger Games
Given this green point of view I only have one question: WTF? I don’t get it. It’s like a new genre of fiction has been created: kiddie horror. I mean the plot as I understand it, is that a tournament exists in which kids, underage kids, are supposed to maim, decapitate, burn or rip apart with their bare hands all of the other kids before it happens to them. But, it’s like a PG movie in America? Kids love it and want to be Katniss and like I said before, WTF? I understand censorship is there to "protect" bad ideas from being presented to kids before they age a bit more and can safely realise it’s all fiction, but just removing the site of blood and stopping them from swearing doesn’t mean you can still have horrific visions of a young black girl dying in the arms of Katniss after being brutally murdered by a strong young teenager glorifying in the act. I have serious problems with how censorship is governed anyway but this is a whole new level of craziness.
It seems that these types of movies are representing a young generation rebelling out at the confusion in the world taken to a whole new level. For my generation it was movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Predator or Jaws that you got your fix of scary death and killing, and these were obviously not targeted at the age group I was in then. You had to sneak in a VHS tape owned by an older brother of a friend and watch it with the sound turned down, shitting your pants in the living room, hoping your mates Mum wouldn't walk in and catch you.
Now its gone mainstream, removed the actual entertaining parts of the gore and scare, targeted it at younger audiences and added much harsher themes of rejection, destroyed families, bullying, exclusion and grief. I mean again, WTF? I would much prefer to watch a straight up horror with people eating monkey brains and all the silly over the top special effects that goes along with that and know it’s not real and only feel that strange excitement of seeing something totally unrealistic yet horrifying. But, broken families, bullying and grief are all too real and shouldn’t be glorified in this way.
This movie really shook me up the wrong way. I don’t understand why it’s so popular and it concerns me. If it was a straight up adventure game or a fun take on a tournament like this where the kids are all simulations and not actually dying then I think it would be fantastic. The filming and acting and effects and sets were all really well put together, but why are we introducing and celebrating all of these moral hardships to young minds as if they are normal? I find it totally weird and unsettling, unless I’m missing something?
SCORE: 5/10
IMDB Info for The Hunger Games
The only thing your missing is you should have read the book first! The book is essentially an allegory for War & poverty. The book(s) are dark, sad, a real struggle. The movie portrays none of this and either glosses over or in some cases doesn't even include major plot points of the novel and therefore misses the entire feeling behind what the book is about.
ReplyDeleteThe movie should be much darker than what it is but theyve dumbed it down to ensure a PG rating and bring in all the kids.
Therefore the movie itself is not a fair representation of the story. Its poorly written, poorly acted and kind of boring. I'd give it no more than a 3.
I might have to read the books then if the movie is not a fair representation of them. As I said in the review I would have enjoyed the movie a lot more if it was a darker take on things and played out to an adult audience. Its just kind of shocking to take such a vindictive and dark themes as a contest to the death, for minors, and dumb it down for a younger audience...
DeleteIm thinking I was too generous with a 5 actually. But the problem is that is was actually quite a well made production and acting was really quite good. Just conceptually its horrible.
Ive heard the 2nd movie is significantly better and more true to the book, but the 2nd book itself wasn't all that great haha!
ReplyDeleteI also hated the quick editing and unnecessary camera zooming in and out and shaking... In the cinema it was horrible, probably not so bad on TV. In some of the fighting scene's I couldn't tell who was who. Which blurry character am I rooting for here?
ReplyDelete