Based on a series of novels by Suzanne Collins, this is the first of a few movies that are set to rock the screens. It is likened to the "Twilight" movie series, which propelled the leads Robert Pattison, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner to international fame.
Would this movie make well-known stars out of the 3 leads Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, the brother of the Thor actor Chris Hemsworth? Only time will tell.
The marketing strategy for the movie was planned by the production company and the promotion started as far back as a few years ago, culminating in the recent release of the movie. It performed very well at the US and worldwide box-office and broke previous records.
Set in the high-tech future, where tributes from 12 impoverished districts were selected to compete in an annual battle "the hunger games" where only one victor is allowed to emerge alive, as a form of punishment against and reminder for the districts for staging past rebellions against the government known as the Capitol. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark were both from the same district 12 and paired up to strategize their moves in order to stay alive till the end. The technology was so advanced to the stage that the game masters were able to adjust day and night lengths at the flick of a switch and conjure up anything, such as trees and a pack of hunting dogs, and throw them into the battle field to up the challenge for its remaining surviving participants.
So disappoint the movie did not, but I wasn't particularly overwhelmed by it too. To me, it was just alright. The scene where the 12 pairs of tributes were first introduced to the audiences on chariots, but more specifically the one where Katniss and Peeta rode through the runway with wing-like flames on their shoulder blades, is cool. Some of the outrageous costumes, make-up etc were what distinguished this from other movies but other than that, I wasn't exactly thrilled by the predictable plot and acting. I understand that the novel series was compared to the Japanese novel "Battle Royale" and was slammed by some critics for its uncanny similarities. I guess when you have seen the best, nothing comes close. It is hard to beat the movie "Battle Royale", with a cast of complete unknowns, which I was privileged to watch on our screens in the year 2000. That is by far, one of the best movies I watched and love deeply, for its originality. Fine, I admit the names Katniss and Peeta are original but seriously what kind of names are these? Anyway, the Japanese is most capable of telling a story at its rawest to evoke the most primal feelings, like the horror movie "The Ring". It was fresh, fast-paced, heart-stopping and extremely violent. In short, it was able to shock me. Sadly, "Battle Royale 2" didn't make it here even though I waited in vain for the many years to come.
Would the sequels to this movie be as successful as this? We can only wait and see. And may the odds be ever in their favour!
