I haven’t read any of the novels in Suzanne Collins’ series, but when something becomes a popular culture phenomenon the way the newly released movie has, I need to see what it’s all about.
So I went to my local multiplex tonight and had a look.
First of all, I loved being transported into the world that Collins and the filmmakers created – a time and place in the future that seemed like a sinister version of Oz. Great costumes and makeup.
Jennifer Lawrence, who was so wonderful in “Winter’s Bone,” plays a young woman with similar backbone and strength. She basically carries the movie, although I adored Stanley Tucci as the over-the-top host of the “games.”
Was I captivated? No. I found myself glancing at my watch every time Lawrence’s character ran through the woods (which she does a lot). And there wasn’t really any suspense, given that we know she’ll be back for the sequels. Still, there were affecting moments between her and the younger sister, as well as with the girl who plays her ally in the woods.
What I didn’t get was any sense of star-crossed lovers – the concept that makes the “Twilight” series so popular. There was so little chemistry between Lawrence and the guy who plays her fellow contestant that it was hard to root for him at all.
I did love the soundtrack, if that counts. And some of the action scenes were really well done.
I guess I’m not the demographic for this movie, although the theater was full of geezers like me.
Oh-kay…it’s been almost a week since you posted this…superseded by 2 more postings…and nobody else has bothered to comment. Sooo…abhorring a vacuum like I do, here we go…
Haven’t read the book (or the author) either, nor seen the flick. And you know my stance on some things. But to me, this is a fascinating commentary on the movie:
“Yet everyone should know one thing: ‘Games’ is not just another slasher/horror scream flick — but rather a furious critique of our political system, in which the central government grows rich from the toil of the masses, even as that same political elite finds entertainment in the contrived and manipulated death of its subjects.
‘Games’ is fantasy fiction, to be sure, but if it can be said that all fiction holds a mirror to the society from which it came, then the contemporary US government — as well as our popular culture, which also comes in for a drubbing — might wish to reflect on its status and standing in our society.”
Your review is interesting, Dave, although it sounds like something you saw on Fox News. Yes, the books are very much a critique of society and have a harder edge than the movie, which played it pretty safe. There’s an indictment of reality television for sure – children killing children for the public’s entertainment – but there’s also a cautionary tale that the 1% wealthiest and most powerful will rule the country in the future and the rest will be made to suffer. And no, I didn’t see that explanation on MSBNC.
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