Yes, yes, I know. The Hunger Games opened last week. I was actually crazy enough to listen to my cousin and went to the midnight showing. Waking up and working the next day on 4 hours of sleep sucked. However, the movie was worth it and the enjoyment of sitting in a crowded theater watching a new flick was worth every minute of lost sleep.
I won't bother with the premise of The Hunger Games. If you want to know more you can google it or better yet, read the books! I loved, loved the first book, thought the second was okay and felt the third one was pretty good. On to my review of the movie...
While many details were left out and character development was lacking, Gary Ross (director) created a movie that had me intently watching into the wee hours of the morning. It wasn't as brutal as I thought it would be, but I was thankful for that. I don't think anyone would want to see children brutally murdering one another. It's a very disturbing notion. The film does a good job of distracting the audience and diverting our attention way from that premise. That being said, there was just enough action and story to keep me engaged from start to finish. I was really happy with the casting of Jennifer Lawrence as kick-ass Katniss Everdeen. She was every bit the strong, witty and agile heroine I was expecting. As for the two boys who would complete the love triangle, well, I don't know who I would've cast, but Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Liam Hemsworth (Gale) sufficed.
To keep this review short...Yes, definitely go see it. And, yes, it's worth going for the full price ticket at night. Even if you haven't read the books, you'll get the gist of the story and a couple of hours worth of good entertainment. "May the odds be ever in your favor!"
One warning...The first 10 minutes or so of the film is shot in the annoying shaky-camera-documentary-style. I'm not sure why, but it did make me a bit nauseous. That ceases as the movie progresses, but thought I'd warn anyone who's prone to feeling ill from that style of filming.
