When immorality is legalized it always gives a significant push for characters to really find out what they are made of–not to say this isn’t the case with our world, it often is–but it’s not so publicized as it is with the capital in the world of Hunger Games. I have a LOT to say about this film and even more about the book, but for the sake of this review I’ll stick to the content of the movie. I didn’t know anything going into this movie, I just knew the actress from X-Men First class and was curious because it was based off a book and had a strong girl lead. Needless to say, after I saw it, I started using the Hunger games rebellion symbol everywhere out of context, read the book, got the magazines, practiced with a bow and bought a mocking jay pin. This is perfect timing anyway because I just watched and reviewed The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes—and after that my sister and I were like, “We’re watching the movies again.” So without further ado, let’s dive in.

The set up and the world:

There’s an old lesson for books, as well as screenplays, that says you’re supposed to introduce your main character, make the audience sympathize with them, relate to them, and throw you into the plot so we care all very early in your story. The book does it even better but the movie does it well. When I first saw it in theaters I was a little confused by the opening scene, but by the second scene it made sense. The film opens with Senneca Crane, the new Game maker, being interviewed by Caesar Flickerman about the Hunger Games. They’re discussing it as a momentous event which unites them, bonds them together and is good news for all. This is clearly contrasted by the sound of Prim (Katniss’ little sister) screaming in District 12 because it’s the day of the reaping and she’s having nightmares about being sent into the games.

• The movie shows the stark contrast between the capital and the districts as well as the fake layer of propoganda which has been created by those in power. All the people watching the interview between Sennecca and Flickerman who are cheering have been dissalusioned into thinking the Hunger Games are a great honor and a test of courage. To them its a joy and to the districts its a horror, those in power like Snow and Sennecca know this but the dillusional masses like Capital citizens are more apathetic and blind in their wicked delight of the games. It’s been part of their culture now for 74 years and they celebrate it while to those involved it’s an atrocity. The film shows this in a clever way out the gate.

• When we meet Katniss she’s comforting her sister over the games and then goes out to hunt and feed her family. We immediately see she’s poor, compassionate to her sister, and basically taking on the job of provider in her family.

• Katniss and Prim attend the reaping and in the now famous “I volunteer as tribute!” scene—we see that as an older sister Katniss, without hesitation, steps up to enter the Games in her sister’s place. It’s her compassion for her little sister which makes her district 12’s first volunteer.

  The character isn’t actively trying to stand out, but she can’t help herself:

  I’ve heard the argument that Katniss is not a hero she’s a survivor—I would contend, though, that her motives for being the latter make her the former. That’s a simple way of putting it but I’ll explain: Katniss is a character whose inability to watch or condone evil or wrongful acts makes her a heroic character even if she doesn’t think it does. Her whole reason for survival is spurred on by a desire to protect others. Granted they might be others she’s close to, but, regardless, it isn’t for herself. Katniss wants to go in the Games to save Prim in the first film. In the first Hunger Games, Katniss works with Rue and only kills in self-defense to save her. She only tries in the second hunger games to save Peeta. Katniss is rarely, if ever motivated, by her own wants and desires.

• In 73 years the capital has watched children fighting to the death many times and never seen someone honor a life in the way Katniss does Rue. She does it to show the capital that who they’re killing is a human being, a child, and needs to be recognized for what it is: murder. In the book this is clear by her narrative. She buries Rue to shove something in the Capitals face and to open eyes that are otherwise blinded to accept the killing of children.

• Katniss wants to keep Peeta alive because of what he did in feeding her family after her father died. In the movie this scene wasn’t clear because we just see Peeta tossing bread, but in the books it explains it. Peeta burned bread on purpose to give it to Katniss because he knew she and Prim were starving to death. Katniss doesn’t help Peeta out of selfishness but because she believes him to be a better person than her.

• Sometimes Katniss’ indignance is so stubborn that it’s not righteously motivated, but more like she can’t keep from calling a spade a spade. When she’s evaluated by the Capital they overlook her, and the hypocrisy and pompous nature of the whole thing makes her snap back at them by shooting an arrow out of the pig’s mouth to the wall right by the judges heads. In the film we have only her expression to go off of, but in the books it’s made clear she is disgusted by being overlooked after being forced out of her home to come train, fight and perform for a bunch of capital pigs—and only to be upstaged by a roast pig. She shoots the arrow out of spite but in doing so calls them out for their arrogant and profligate nature.

  The word Snow uses to describe Katniss’ actions with the berries in the arena is accurate: Contempt. However, it doesn’t negate the right reasons behind the harsh sentiment she bears for the capital. Peeta is only interested in their fake love story and how that will play out, he actually believes Katniss would rather kill herself than not be with him. In reality, Katniss is thinking the words Peeta spoke but didn’t really have the guts to follow through on earlier, “I want to show them they don’t own me.” Katniss has hated being a piece in the games and wants to upstage the capital, to deliver a blow, make them look bad for all the death and bloodshed they’ve caused. The action with the berries was pure contempt as well as survival—but she’s taking up arms against an evil institution that has enslaved and oppressed her people. Who’s more deserving of her contempt? Katniss didn’t know how vast the ripple effect would be from her actions but she knew exactly what she meant to say in doing it. That’s the part where her age and experience comes into play—Katniss is only 16 in the first book. She has the heart and will to defy the capital and cannot sit by while they play their wicked games (much as she sometimes tries because that’s what Haymitch and everyone else wants), but she’s still a young girl. And by the second film, when things get into a full scale rebellion, she thinks she’s in over her head.

  The romance, or lack there of, and my issues with the boy with the bread:

  This movie wasn’t a romance and neither was the book series so normally this wouldn’t merit much of a space here, but because of how much hype the alleged romance got prior to the movie I have to say something. This movie was about freedom, the overcoming of institutionalized immorality and wickedness by one unassuming individual who leads others to step up. It wasn’t about the boy with the bread—just saying.

• Peeta is painted like the good boy, the friend, the nice guy and every other title that’s boring and inoffensive that they can enforce—but in reality, he comes off as a petty lovesick selfish boy. Peeta helps her family with the bread, okay fine. But as soon as he’s picked for the games he’s just one flighty move after another. Peeta puts himself down and builds Katniss up the whole time prior to the games but it doesn’t appear to be out of sincerity, rather so he can remove himself of any responsibility and obligation to fight or protect her in the games. He says he has no chance of winning but she does—and yet physically the books and the movie tell us Peeta is stronger than Katniss and supposed to be twice her size. In the movie he’s not; but still, it seems selfish for a boy to be whining about how he’ll die in the games when a small girl is going to have to fight for herself and it takes every ounce of skill she has to stay alive.

• Peeta is the one who tries to sell the fake star crossed lovers story to the Capital, but then gets emotionally involved when Katniss picks it up and plays along in the games. What bother’s me the most about this, is I have to ask the question: Does he know she’s playing along? Because if he does, than he’s manipulative for going along and getting as much as he can out of this fake love story and trying to make time with Katniss when they’re being filmed by the world and she has no choice. If he thinks it’s real, first of all he’s nuts—but let’s just say his ego is that big and he does—then he’s just dumb because he knows Haymitch pushed them to pretend to be lovers. To act like something she’s being pressured to do when her life is at stake and she’s being filmed by the capital is genuine just makes him selfish and blind. And to top it all off he then gets bothered with her when he allegedly finds out that it was all an act.

• Peeta tries to act like he’s different and doesn’t want to become like the capital when he tells Katniss, “I just want a way to show them they don’t own me,” but in the games he doesn’t take any active steps to be different or to stand up against the other tributes or the capital. Peeta joins up with the careers supposedly to protect Katniss. But that would mean he was there when the careers killed the young girl by the fire and were joking about it. Katniss wouldn’t and couldn’t align with murderers because she could never sit by while they slaughter innocent people. Peeta does, but we’re supposed to think he’s a nice guy. He also goes to sleep while all the careers are there waiting for Katniss to come out of the tree instead of taking any actions to trap, harm them, or save her. We’re supposed to believe he fights Cato but we don’t see it, and we’re given no explanation as to how he got away with only an injured leg. If he was going to fight him, and Cato had been stung by tracker jackers—why didn’t he finish him off instead of running? Then, he runs into Katniss whose drugged out and dizzy and proceeds to yell at her cluelessly instead of helping.

  Basically, Peeta was a weak male lead and it’s fine with me if the film isn’t a romance, but when the film came out people were going on about the triangle more than anything. I feel like they were just trying to make it into Twilight and it’s not. I didn’t dislike Gale in this film, but once again when a book is translated to a movie I think they cut a good deal of dialogue and personality from the characters.

  My other observations of the film:

  I think this film had a slower pace than the sequel, but aside from that my biggest complaint was the areas where they deviated from the book instead of taking direct dialogue. They translated everything pretty well with only a couple exceptions. I like the scene where Katniss and Peeta meet Haymitch but they take some liberties with the dialgoue instead of just having them do the scene as it is in the book, and that makes it a little weaker.

• Jennifer Lawrence does a good job of playing Katniss the way I imagine her, just toned down. In the book she’s even more disagreeable and stubborn than she is in the film. Scenes in the book like Katniss fighting with Haymitch while they rehearse interviews, or arguing with everyone who isn’t Cinna are omitted and I understand its for time purposes. Katniss in the film has a genuine but stoic approach to the world, with a hint of stubborn contentiousness that reminds me more of the way she is in the books and its unique to see a female hero with those traits on screen. I’m used to female characters on screen being there for “smut factor” or the “aodrkable factor” and I was so happy she wasn’t either.

• Peeta is more pathetic in the books than he is in the film so that’s one thing I can say for the movie portrayal, he’s not great but he’s worse in the book.

  Overall, I enjoyed the film and was relieved it was a unique story with different characters and a world that we hadn’t seen a million times. I don’t mean that in a pejorative way to this film. But it’s a relief to get movies that are original and not simply trying to check boxes or please one crowd—they just tell a moving story. The series peaked at the sequel and that will be the next review—till then, may the odds be ever in your favor.