The downside of going to see a movie based on a series of young adult books, is that you end up having to watch the movie with a bunch of young adults. This generally means that there will be talking throughout the movie and inappropriate laughter at sensitive moments. Oh well...whatcha gonna do?
I read this book series last year and definitely had my opinions when they announced who would be playing Katniss, Peeta and Gale. Once photos started being released of the actors in character, I relaxed. Now having seen the movie, I congratulate the actors on a job well done. Jennifer Lawrence is a wonderful Katniss perfectly capturing the strength and vulnerability of the character. Josh Hutcherson is very convincing as Peeta Mellark. Liam Hemsworth doesn't get too much screen time as Gale Hawthorne, but that was fine with me - he looked too pretty and well groomed to play Gale. I remember that people were upset that Woody Harrelson was cast as Haymitch - but I thought he was quite good and I liked his portrayal.
The running time for this movie was 2 hours and 22 minutes. It went by in a flash for me. The pace of the film was good - there were no lulls. I was concerned how the brutality of the story would be played out onscreen - it could have been quite gory, but it was handled well. It was scary and disturbing that these teens were put in the position of "kill or be killed." The books were much more brutal than the movie portrayed - maybe it was sanitized a little too much.
All in all I think this was a good adaptation of the book, but I truly recommend that you read it before seeing the movie. There is just too much that the movie couldn't focus on. The books are almost always better than the movie, aren't they? Be that as it may, I am looking forward to the sequel - Catching Fire. I've got time to re-read the series before the it comes out next year in November.
2 comments:
I'm not likely to read gory young adult books, but to each his own.
I almost called you at 2:30 a.m. early Friday morning after catching the midnight showing with mostly young adults (late teens to early twenties). I did not read the books but was aware of the premise of the series. I was NOT impressed with the story or the costumes. The acting was just fine, but I found the story implausible and did not understand why everyone was wearing neon wigs, makeup and clothing (as well as walking a pink dog!). The gore was kept to a minimum and I imagine that is why it got a PG-13 rating. I give it a 5 on a 10 point scale. That being said, I will not be seeing the two sequels in the series.
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