The Hunger Games – 2012 – Macabre…

I saw The Hunger Games before. In fact, when it was still new and maybe not as hyped as it has become. I wasn’t that impressed. The similarities with the Japanese movie Battle Royale were too great to really let this sink in. Because if we’re going to be honest here. The Hunger Games isn’t half as macabre as Battle Royale. There isn’t as much shock value and there isn’t the really raw feel to it. I only saw the first film though and Now I though I’d go through them all and give an honest opinion. Hence I got them on bluray for the best possible experience.

It looks good to be sure. There’s nothing wrong with the basic plot and there is nothing wrong with the acting. I can feel that the story is a bit weak though and that the shock value isn’t high enough. For an experienced movie watcher there’s nothing shocking in The Hunger Games. Maybe that’s not what the creators of the film series was aiming for but it’s something I’d like to see when the subject is so macabre. Or is it?

The Hunger Games isn’t about a game – really! It’s not about some macabre government sponsored entertainment. We’ve seen it many times before actually. In movie like The Running Man, Rollerball and the Fighting Centurions. The aim is not to create an entertaining show, the aim is to control the masses. The Hunger Games is no exception to that. The reason for these games, designed to be a fight to the death for everyone but one of the contenders.

This is the premiss: Every year a man and a woman (or boy/girl) is chosen from each and every one of the twelve districts. They’re to fight to the death in the so called Hunger Games. Only one can survive. The price is fame and wealth for the rest of the winners life. They are taken to the capital for training and preparation before they’re unleashed in the wild to try to survive the game. It’s not obvious to the contenders but this is more than a wilderness survival. At least not in the beginning. The politics involved are immense.

I found this much more entertaining than I remembered it to be. As I said, my goal this time was to see all the movies and this really makes me want to see the sequel. Stay tuned for upcoming review on that.