I saw The Hunger Games Friday night in a packed NYC movie theater and it was an experience I don’t want to replicate any time soon. Not because the movie is bad. My issue is that I really hate crowds and disorganization. Although attending sold out screenings can be fun because you get see a popular movie with a hyped-up audience, these screenings make me uncomfortable. In seconds, people change from being (presumably) well-mannered individuals to lunatics with crazy eyes. I especially hate being corralled into a cramped corridor with people as they are plotting how to get the best seats.
In a weird way, this mentally prepared me to see The Hunger Games because I had to be stealthy to get a decent seat. I sprinted up a flight of stairs. I darted around slow moving people. I left my friends behind. Despite this experience, I rather enjoyed The Hunger Games. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is bad ass, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is perfectly dreamy, and Gale (Liam Hemsworth Cyrus) is very… tall. These are some of my other thoughts on The Hunger Games.
1. Did I mention that I hate crowds and disorganization? The real tragedy is that my ticket stub was a victim.
2. If and when you see The Hunger Games, you will be subjected to many bad trailers, including Breaking Dawn, Pt 2. and The Host. One girl sitting near me got really excited about The Host. She started wildly waving her arms and making noises I only associate with mating. I assume this kind of behavior means enthusiasm. I wouldn’t know because whenever I love or hate something I gripe about it on the Internet.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GJo0cxuyxs]3. I’m not crazy about the books; I checked Catching Fire out from the library three weeks ago and I still haven’t read it. But I was still excited to see Panem and District 12 brought to life on the big screen. My excitement was quickly diminished because of the quick cuts and shaky, handheld camera work that dominates the first hour of the movie. Maybe this is to make District 12 seem more depressing. But if I had seen The Hunger Games in IMAX, I would have thrown up.
4. Somewhere in a stately Bel Air mansion, Willow Smith must be pissed.
5. Jennifer Lawrence dominated this film and she is the sole reason to eventually see The Hunger Games.
6. If The Hunger Games indicate anything about the forthcoming apocalypse, it is that really wealthy people will take great pride in their hair.
7. Supporting characters like Effie (Elizabeth Banks), Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) deserved more screen time. I could have watched scenes of Effie shouting about woodwork (“That’s mahogany!”) all day. This makes me look forward to the sequels.
8. Because so much time is spent in District 12 and the pre-games, the actual Hunger Games felt rushed. This most affected the scenes between Peeta and Katniss. Despite the best effort of a crappy flashback, their relationship lacked depth. Maybe I shouldn’t have read the books because then I wouldn’t know otherwise.
9. Thanks to We Need To Talk About Kevin, archery was having a rough year. But Katniss Everdeen has singlehandedly improved the image of the bow and arrow.
10. If I had to compete in the Hunger Games, I would most likely die in the first five minutes. But I still have no desire to exercise or to learn how to hunt. Maybe I’ll grow my hair out so I can braid it because braids are badass.
Have you seen The Hunger Games yet? Did it live up to your expectations? Or did you hate it? Sound off below.
@Cinefille 
Your review was FUN to read. Had me seriously chuckling a few times. I really enjoyed reading your experience. I too went to see it with the crazy crowds. All that you stated that you found a problem with in the movie, are the same things that bothered me… plus a few more. I really didn’t like the added scenes they wrote for the movie (with Snow and Seneca) as I felt it stole minutes from the movie that could have been used to better the scenes that actually happened and were captured on film.
I feel like the scenes between Snow and Seneca had to exist for anyone who didn’t read the books to explain the Games. They also show Snow’s totalitarian regime in action, something that is missing because several subplots – the Vox for instance- are absent from the film. But I also didn’t think these scenes were executed perfectly.
Thanks for reading!
I heard from Peter Travers’ podcast that the final fighting scenes were shot be Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh or not, that mess was hard to follow. Steady cam anyone? I too am glad I didn’t see it in IMAX, but other than that this movie is pretty bad ass.
Oh wow, I didn’t know that Soderbergh filmed the final scenes. That’s interesting. Hopefully Catching Fire is less… dizzying.
lol. i really liked this movie. but Amandla stenberg>>>>willow smith (by a landslide)
This is very true.
I think I had a hard time with the movie because I always go into film adaptations of books I love ready to be offended with what Hollywood changed. Here I think I was a little more justified because you lose so much by not having that insight into Katniss’s thoughts. If I hadn’t read the books I would not have known that she was faking the romance for the cameras. And dear God the camera.