Having had the pleasure of being among the midnight premiere crowd, I'm getting a lot of questions today from both Hunger Games enthusiasts and parents. My first piece of advice....read The Hunger Games first. It would be a shame to see the movie and think that's all there is to the hype.
Is this movie appropriate for your child? I have no idea. I wouldn't presume to know how conditioned to violence your home is by media. I know it was certainly not appropriate for two children that appeared to be about five. (At midnight! Those parents deserve a punch!) It isn't appropriate for my nine year old. She's tender-hearted and literal.
I saw the movie with four 10-11 year old girls and two other adults. None of us left the theater feeling like this movie overexposed our children to violence. I witnessed no one leaving the theater as I had feared after reading Entertainment Weekly's review that describes a key scene as a "blood bath" and gave me visions of this scene from Braveheart. That's a bloodbath. The Hunger Games cornucopia scene was a sixty second shower from a leaking faucet. I do arrive at the same conclusion as EW. Know your child.
That aside...I rate the movie a B.
The big shortfall of movies to books is always character development and, in this case, you can't unread three books worth of personalities. All of the characters fell a bit flat, particularly Haymitch. When I heard Woody Harrelson would play the role, I immediately thought of Harrelson's performance in The People V. Larry Flynt. The drunk mentor character was very watered down for the screen, probably because the film struggles to keep kid-on-kid violence at PG13. "Larry Flynnt drunk", which Haymitch absolutely is in the books, wouldn't have contributed to PG13. Fans will also want to see much more of Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) in the sequels.
There were changes to plot, such as the origination of Katniss's mockingjay pin, that alter a vital message in the series. The book so well develops an almost primitive life in District 12 that it reads as much historical fiction as sci-fi. High-tech control rooms and futuristic styling trump District 12 in the movie and establish a definitive sci-fi tone.
Still, the movie is based on such a great story and I had the character connection to make it more complete. The theater was 85% 10-16 year old kids and there wasn't a giggle, a word, a make out session. The screen held constant attention. The wardrobe and sets, even food styling, are exquisite.
Two themes emerged that were not as evident in the book. First, the movie draws strong parallels to the reality television we eagerly consume. While Survivor contestants don't die, we do find entertainment in their suffering. The Dance Moms (no parallel in the movie, just my own inspired train of thought) do emotionally torture one another, often with obvious manipulation from show production. The concept of a televised battle to death of children is inconceivable, but we are on the spectrum. How far is too far?
(Spoiler alert...but you've already read the book, right?) Peeta and Katniss display a willingness to commit suicide to prove a point. Seeing the two kids, whose names were imprinted on the backs of t-shirts and whose signature braid crowned the head of so many preteen girls, agree to end the games on their terms unsettled me deeply. I already knew it was going to happen. I'm not sure how I missed it before, but add "suicide" to the list of important conversations the Hunger Games might inspire.
A huge pat on the back goes out to Rave Motion pictures in Jones Valley for an extremely well-managed premiere event. I bet there isn't a theater employee in America who didn't seriously consider quitting their job by 11:45 last night. Think Christmas Eve in retail, but all the customers are 13 years old and have already consumed the candy from their stockings.
Lucky for me, I got to just watch.
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