The Hunger Games Review

                     The Hunger Games has been getting hyped up for over a year now. It has been getting so hyped up, in fact, that over a week before its release, it was sold out for many show times all over the world. However, while I hate to be "this guy", I have to admit that while The Hunger Games is not a bad film...it is not one worth all the hype it is getting. The film, while with excellent casting and a somewhat fun plot can not sustain its run time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Gary Ross, who previously has directed Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, two significantly better films doesn't seem to know what he wants to do with the film. He makes it both a dark, violent action film for the later teens and a drama about family for, indeed, the whole family.

                    The fact that this film has been getting so hyped up makes me feel obliged to bring up the good first. The good stuff comes in two forms-the acting and the humor of the film. Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci are perfectly cast as the mentor and the host. However, Jennifer Lawrence makes a good Katniss and Elizabeth Banks makes a very good Effie. Harrelson and Tucci both bring some humor to the film, while Banks and Lawrence make good serious performers. However, with any film that is over 2 hours, my belief is that you have to keep my interest for at least half that time for me to recommend it. The Hunger Games fails at this. The film bounces back and forth between dark, comical, and dramatic so much that you don't know which one you want it to primarily be. The film also features a lot of bad writing in the form of overly silly dialogue and ridiculously convenient situations. I won't say what it is, but there is a tactic during the games themselves that is so conveniently placed it makes you weird watching something so convenient. Also, the film takes so long to get going that by the hour mark, I just wanted to see the games begin.

                   While The Hunger Games succeeds in some aspects, most aspects don't work. I would say see the film if you haven't been on the edge of your seat to see it. Even if you have been on the edge of your seat, you might end up liking, or even loving it.....I really just didn't like it.
(2 out of 5 Stars, The film is Rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images-all involving teens)