Game of death

We’ve all imagined what it would be like to win the lottery. Perhaps you envisioned buying a big house, a flashy car and going on carefree tropical holidays ... well that’s not what happens if you win in this movie!

Set in a dystopian future, The Hunger Games offers a surprisingly sharp social critique about the class division prevalent across the world.

In this movie the world is run by a group of wealthy authoritarians who have an iron-fisted grip on the underclass. This is a result of an unsuccessful revolution for equality several years earlier.

Ever since, there has been a yearly lottery in which two youngsters from each of the 12 districts are selected and set loose in a controlled wilderness where they must survive hunger and violence, until only one of them is left alive.
 
The survivor of this deadly game, which is televised across the world, wins food for their impoverished district and comes home a celebrity … a bit like the UK’s Big Brother but without host Davina (McCall).

Young Katniss (Lawrence) has volunteered to take part in this year’s games to spare her younger sister who was unlucky enough to win the lottery in District 12.

She is joined by a young chap named Peeta (Hutcherson). They are taken from the poverty of their everyday lives to the extravagant extremes of the capital.

When they reach their destination, they’re taught some basic survival tricks by one of the game’s former winners, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Haymitch is a disgruntled guy who has taken to intoxication to help him deal with the mental and emotional strain the games have caused him. Obviously, Harrelson does a fantastic job in his role and my biggest gripe is that he should’ve had more screen time.
 
The pair also meets Caesar Flickerman, the TV show’s charismatic host. He interviews all of the contestants and is loved the world over. I can’t help but think that casting Davina McCall would have been hilarious … a wasted opportunity, in my opinion.

When the games begin, the pair is pitted not only against deadly obstacles and better trained competitors, but each other as well. This wouldn’t be so bad if Katniss wasn’t falling for the charming Peeta.
 
However, since only one of them can make it out alive, she has to try and put her feelings aside and concentrate on surviving.

I love the concept for the film; it has allusions to the 2000 classic Japanese Battle Royale which is one of my favourite foreign movies. However, because of Hunger Games’ rating, it fails to have the same impact and seems like a watered-down version, which is disappointing.

Thankfully Hunger Games isn’t quite as tedious as the Twilight saga and lacks the pompous arrogance of the Harry Potter franchise but make no mistake, these movies are aimed at the same audience.

Although there are similarities with both of the aforementioned movies, this one manages to hold its own and makes for moderately entertaining, if not slightly nauseating, viewing.

One of the tools I have come to hate in modern movies is the use of hand-held cameras. It made me dizzy during The Blair Witch Project and it still makes me dizzy now … come on, invest in a tripod, I dare you!

As for the cast, I was relatively impressed. Casting Lawrence in the leading role was a stroke of genius. She has a sense of maturity beyond her years and manages to essentially carry the film all by herself.

There’s also a nice little cameo from rocker Lenny Kravitz, which was a pleasant surprise.

Finally, I must address this, before someone-else does. No, I haven’t read the book and so it’s impossible to say how this adaptation compares.

All in all, not a bad film but if you’re looking for a more intense version of essentially the same thing, rent Battle Royale … and, for readers whose Japanese is rusty, yes, it has subtitles.

*Showing in Cineco, Seef II, Saar and Al Jazeera