The Hunger Games - 10 stars out of 10

The Hunger Games - 10 stars out of 10
650th Review

"The Hunger Games" is one of the most creative films that I have seen in years.  This interesting dystopian story is much more than a sci-fi film or an action film - it is the complete package.  Its first half unfolds as a drama, taking time to absorb us into its futuristic totalitarian world and allowing the actors to actually use their acting skills (since this is so often lost in action films).  The character development of the Hunger Games contestants is important as the writers guide us to support certain contestants and to fear others.  The second half contains the action as the Hunger Games are underway.  Once again, there is much more to this than your typical action sequences.  Amidst the knives and arrows, the characters continue to develop as we see the inherent good in Katniss and the devotion of Peeta, not to mention the things that we learn about members of the government.  I credit the writers and editors for their careful treatment of violence in this film.  Obviously fighting and killing is a very important part of the, but they have settled on the perfect degree of violent imagery to effectively tell the story and create emotions while keeping it clean enough for the 9-year-old girls who inevitably watch the film.  There was a lot of shakey camera technique in this film, almost too much, but it really helped to bring the violent sequences to life without showing too much.  The special effects are simply awesome, from the fire dress to the tracker jackers, not to mention the entire futuristic world.  Amidst these special effects, the film takes time for its emotional moments, particularly Rue's entire death sequence and Katniss' goodbye with Cinna.  Probably the only part of the film that I didn't care for was the final battle on the Cornucopia which just felt weak compared to the rest of the film.  Regardless, this film is a success because of the acting of Jennifer Lawrence.  This unbelievably talented young actress (of "Winter's Bone" fame) brings this heroine to life and energizes the entire film.  She provides both the sacrificial devotion to her family and the kick-butt attitude that we love to see in Katniss.  After her, it is the secondary characters that really stuck out to me - I barely recognized Stanley Tucci in the role of Caesar Flickerman and it was tough to believe that this reality tv host is the same person who played a child molester in "The Lovely Bones."  Donald Sutherland is marvelous as always and the surprise performance for me came from Lenny Kravitz as Cinna.  "The Hunger Games" left me frozen in my seat, barely able to leave the theater because it was such an awesome trip.  I can't wait to see the rest of the series and highly recommend that you jump onto the bandwagon ASAP!