The Hunger Games Saga
The Hunger Games - Catching Fire - Mockingjay (Parts 1 & 2)
2012 to 2016
8 / 10
I'm reviewing the entire saga and not the movies individually as it should be regarded as one story. Even though the movies work in their own right I would advise watching, as well as reading, the entire saga since they are a perfect continuation of a rebellion and their reluctant figurehead Katniss Everdeen "The Mockingjay" played well by Jennifer Lawrence.
The first movie deals with the ignition of the rebellion, the Hunger Games. Devised by the survivors of the nuclear way, when they say factions taking on factions. It was decided to hold a "Games" where two members of each district, randomly picked (one male and one female), are forced to fight each other in an artificially created arena, until one walks out.
In relation to the book, this is quite a good conversion (as you would expect as Suzanne Collins helped write the screenplay), though I do feel as though it should have been an hour longer. Everything seemed too rushed. The bad thing is that there are quite a few key moments in the book, especially the relationships between Katniss and Rue and Katniss and Peter. Because there was no time in the two-hour twenty-two minutes runtime to do these relationships justice. The good thing is that in the next three movies the relationship between Katniss and Peter is done really well. But not knowing if the first film would do well, they probably thought there would have been a chance that the follow-up movies wouldn't be made.
The acting is okay, Jennifer Lawrence does an amiable job in The Hunger Games and by Mockingjay Part 1 you can see her acting skills have grown as she is more believable as Katniss the reluctant rebel. The star of the four movies though is the actor portraying Peeta, Josh Hutcherson. Right from the start, he does a more than agreeable performance showing a quiet shy boy who has always loved Katniss, though from afar, right to the haggard brain-washed mutt of the capitol. He even has some of the better scenes as his character is also intelligent enough to understand and rationalise the situations around him. If anything Peeta is the strongest character in the saga. I also loved Elizabeth Banks' portrayal of Effie Trinkett; it is splendid and as the saga continues she brings a warmth to the character that adds power to the story. Woody Harrelson does an agreeable rendition as Haymitch.
However, Stanley Tucci is risible as the Television Host Caeser Flickerman, though there is a good chance this is how the character is meant to be - though I didn't read him that way in the book. I just couldn't get into Liam Hemsworth as Gale, whose character gets more story-time as the saga continues, though he just seemed so two-dimensional and that made me distrust the relationship between him and Katniss. Then Donald Sutherland (playing President Snow), Philip Seymour Hoffman (playing Plutarch Heavensbee), and Wes Bentley (playing Seneca Crane), just feel as though they've turned up, dressed up, and read their lines, which is a shame as they are good actors.
The direction throughout the four movies is pretty good and at times gives us some great moments. One of my favourite scene's comes from Mockingjay Part 1, it's the segue that takes part in "The Hanging Tree" song - who would believe that Jennifer Lawrence can hold a tune. Here you have Katniss and her propaganda team filming the destruction at District 12, her hometown, to the tech guys pushing the footage to all the other sectors and their rebels picking up the song as an anthem, to them singing it on a mission. Brilliantly thought out and directed. "The Hanging Tree" is also a pretty decent song, my favourite in the saga.
The story, though rushed in the first installment, is pretty well paced through the remaining movies building tension at the right moments and picking up the pace in the action scenes.
I would recommend this to people who like action films, dystopian futures, and drama. I watched The Hunger Games and Catching Fire one day and both Mockingjay movies the next. I believe that watching them pretty much back-to-back is the way to go as it made the experience more enjoyable.
The Hunger Games - Trailer
Catching Fire - Trailer
Mockingjay Part 1 - Trailer
Mockingjay Part 2 - Trailer
The Hanging Tree - Song
The Hanging Tree - Scene
