A swarm of positive reviews is what drew me to the theatres to see this one. The trailer hadn't done much for me as I saw shadows of another Twilight type franchise in the background. Having seen it, the presence of shadows can be confirmed, but the fact that they remain in the shroud for the most part, allows other aspects of the film to shine through.
The film suceeds in measure, by taking a number of well judged, calculated risks. The most successful being the casting of Jennifer Lawrence. It would've been very easy to throw in some dolly to pull a crowd, but they chose here to go against type and cast on talent. Quite a bold call in this day and age, but one thats reaps dividends as she carries a huge amount of the film through her own performance. She had already proved her chops in the chilling and eerie 'Winter's Bone' a few years back and follows suit as an unlikley competitor in 'The Hunger Games'.
As far as the film goes, anyone that has seen the Japanese Classic 'Battle Royale' may find this version a little inferior, but at the same time it probably won't insult you either. Again its the calculated risks that save it. Its much tamer but not completely sugar coated as one can imagine they concealed just enough to keep its pg rating. They also gathered a surprisingly strong supporting cast with Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland and Elizabeth Banks all featuring. It takes some of the pressure off Lawrence without eclipsing her on centre stage. The pace of the film also works as it spends just enough time establishing and setting up the characters, allowing us to invest in their outcomes. The 2 1/2 hours is barely noticeable as there is enough going on to get you through.
I did have one or two objections with certain plot choices it made towards the end, and felt it maybe could've gone down a path of greater resonance but these types of films are just as much about commerce as they are about art and the compromise was sufficient enough, again calculated.
All in all it was a well executed film, with intriguing prospects ahead of it. What will be interesting is to see if they find the right formula to keep it going.
