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The Hunger Games, well-fed and rested.
I'm not a huge fan of the books (the plot is strong and Katniss works very well as a character, but the execution is mediocre, plus first person pov), so I don't really feel heartbroken about saying the movie is meh. I loved it up until the actual Games started, at which point the PG-13 rating took over, taking away most things that made the book effective. The bloodbath at the beginning was blurry and lacked bite. The whole Games lacked horror and panic, not in the least because Jennifer Lawrence had a happy, healthy glow about her the whole time. You can tell she has never skipped a meal in her life. I'm not saying they should have hired someone super-skinny, but at least someone with a pointier face? Someone who needs a light application of shadows to look like they are on the verge of starvation?
The Games? Nothing hungry about them. As sister rightly points out, Katniss has starved. She has a thing about food. Every time she has a full table before her, she eats. Food is always her primary concern. The movie skipped on that, like they skipped on the survival parts of the Games, thus taking away a major characterisation/plot point. Seriously, we got maybe forty minutes of priming and then the Games in which Katniss was taking a leisurely stroll through the woods, looking fabulous. Would it kill them to add some bruises? Dunno, a limp? Anything? Muss up her hair?
Which neatly segues into another thing: why was the finale so bland? Why was Peeta tap-dancing instead of bleeding out and nearly dying? Why did the gamemaker wuss out so soon, they barely managed to hold the bloody berries up! Both contributes to the ending being very, very meh, thus colouring the whole thing, which is a shame, because like I said, up until the Games began I really liked it.
It was disappointing, altogether, and it was the little things that ruined it. This makes me sad, because I really wanted to love it, but the whole thing smacked of wasted potential. Even the lush decadent feel of the Capitol was ruined and don't let me get started on the shaky camera.
The Games? Nothing hungry about them. As sister rightly points out, Katniss has starved. She has a thing about food. Every time she has a full table before her, she eats. Food is always her primary concern. The movie skipped on that, like they skipped on the survival parts of the Games, thus taking away a major characterisation/plot point. Seriously, we got maybe forty minutes of priming and then the Games in which Katniss was taking a leisurely stroll through the woods, looking fabulous. Would it kill them to add some bruises? Dunno, a limp? Anything? Muss up her hair?
Which neatly segues into another thing: why was the finale so bland? Why was Peeta tap-dancing instead of bleeding out and nearly dying? Why did the gamemaker wuss out so soon, they barely managed to hold the bloody berries up! Both contributes to the ending being very, very meh, thus colouring the whole thing, which is a shame, because like I said, up until the Games began I really liked it.
It was disappointing, altogether, and it was the little things that ruined it. This makes me sad, because I really wanted to love it, but the whole thing smacked of wasted potential. Even the lush decadent feel of the Capitol was ruined and don't let me get started on the shaky camera.