Please note, I will be refraining from discussing the book in this critique of The Hunger Games' story. The book is a completely different work of art separate from the movie. Although the book served as inspiration for the film, the film should be critiqued as something completely separate from it's source material. Soon after this post I will write a post about remakes and adaptations and why I think they should be viewed as "new" stand alone works of art with no connection to the source material.
I hope you enjoy my second post :)
The Story Being Told
To save her sister's life, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take part in a fight to the death.
The Kind of Story it Tells
This is a tricky thing to nail down, but I would argue the prominent type of story The Hunger Games tells is a "Romantic Comedy"...minus the funny ha-ha part. Although the film is part sci-fi, part action flick, Katniss's main obstacle is overcoming her relationships. Gary Ross took on a big challenge telling a story that is equal parts sci-fi, action, and romance. He balances these three stories very well, but I'd say none in particular were mastered.
As far as this movie being a romantic comedy, I mean this strictly by definition, in the classical sense. It Happened One Night is considered to be the first romantic comedy ever made. Before they were called romantic comedies, they were called "Screwball Comedies." What this means is two opposite characters, usually a down to earth working class man and a woman from higher society with a high opinion of herself, are forced to deal with each other. Their differences make them clash, offering many opportunities for comedy, yet through their differences they learn from each other and ultimately fall in love. In essence, this is precisely the relationship of Katniss and Peeta.
Katniss is all about protecting her family and putting on a strong face. Peeta on the other hand is much more sensitive and does the right thing, regardless of the consequences, even if it means his life. On top of it, Peeta seems to be a hopeless romantic and Katniss would rather have nothing to do with love. Although Katniss tends to reject Peeta's affection, she learns from Peeta to take care of those other than herself and her family. He teachers her to be altruistic to all those in trouble. Her lesson eventually becomes a beacon of hope for all of Panem.
Analysis
Like I said, this story was a challenge to tell. How do you tell a compelling sci-fi/action/love story completely in only about two hours? Well, for starters, I guess the filmmakers have a bit of leeway since it's a series, but you can't assume the majority of your audience is familiar with the series.
On it's face it appears to be a film about a dystopian future where once a year young people are forced to fight to the death as tribute for the kindness of their totalitarian government. Pretty cool premise, right? It is, yet that's all it is -- a premise. It's merely the stage for the drama of the "star-crossed lovers." It's a very cool premise, but it leaves the audience asking a lot of questions and addresses a lot of issues that are never discussed. Why did the working class uprise in the first place? Why was/is the government oppressing the workers? Why do they make their young fight to the death? How did they decide on The Hunger Games? Why is The Hunger Games the most effective way of controlling the working class? There are many more questions that could be asked, but it all seems to be about some sort of class warfare. Fair enough, but the only argument, or point the movie tries to make is that "rich bourgeois bad," "poor working class good." It doesn't offer any point, counter-point, for either side.
It might sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. All of those things are fine, so long as you make it clear that that's not what your movie is about. The Hunger Games is a romantic comedy disguised as an action sci-fi flick, yet it still attempts to be a sci-fi action flick with a social statement. If the sci-fi dystopian aspects of the film had been briefly establish in the beginning of the film and then ignored, it would have forced the audience to accept those terms without question. If the film had simply said, "Once a year a boy and girl from each district much be sacrificed to take part in a fight to the death," and it was left at that we as an audience would have accepted that as the way this world is and no further questions would have been asked. More precisely, no further questions would be screaming out for answers. But since President Snow has a heart to heart with the Game Maker, explaining that the games are about creating a sense of false hope, we start to wonder why hope is the best way to control the masses? Why is The Hunger Games the best way to create a sense of false hope? The list goes on.
Now, The Hunger Games as an action flick. The action in this film is very well shot and very entertaining, but it's not an action flick. Katniss spends most of the film running away from things. Any time Katniss takes action, she seems to instantly have a plan and executes it with little to no error. Nothing really needs to be planned out nor does Katniss ever truly have to outsmart anyone (other than her sponsors). The hardest thing for Katniss is navigating human relationships.
The stakes of the film are established, but rarely addressed directly. The characters rarely show that they're afraid of dying, nor do any of the characters seem to have much of a problem killing someone else. The only time Katniss ever seems to truly be shaken is when: she volunteers to save her sister, just before she's brought into the arena, and lastly when Rue dies. Other than that the psychological effects of fighting for your life and taking the lives of others is never addressed. However, it does express that the bloodthirsty "careers" are bad and have a problem, but it's okay to kill someone if they're trying to kill you.
So, complicated film to tackle. Sci-fi social issues, life and death, morality, it's a lot to handle for a story targeted at teenagers. But let's go back to the main plot of the film. Katniss has to survive The Hunger Games. To do this, she must be the last one standing, either by killing those who stand in her way or by outlasting everyone else. Simple enough, yet at every major obstacle it's not her physical strength that allows her to overcome, it's her empathy (or apparent empathy). She begins the film very stone cold, only looking out for herself, and she ends the film learning to love another person and willing to sacrifice her life for the sake of Peeta and the rest of Panem. That's what the story is truly about. It's not about a dystopian society that let's their children fight each other. That's a different movie called Battle Royale. The sci-fi wonder and action is merely decoration for the core romantic drama. They're good decorations, don't get me wrong, but if you look too closely at them you realise they're poorly strung together.
I have no problem with this film being a romantic "comedy." However, it troubles me that in a movie with such high stakes, targeted at teenagers, the moral seems to be that it's better to die while staying true to yourself than it is to selfishly survive, possibly giving up your convictions. I truly enjoyed this film, but with as much attention and detail as they put into the sci-fi aspects I would have appreciated it if more of the story had been spent exploring the world and those concepts. However, this wouldn't have been a problem had the story only been told from the perspective of Katniss. From her perspective, she knows little to nothing about what the government has done and what The Hunger Games is all about, other than that's the way things are. She wouldn't have known the answers, so we wouldn't have expected them. Yet since they spent so much time showing things from the antagonists perspective, we expect to gain more information from them beside their displeasure.
Why You Might Like It
You'll definitely like The Hunger Games if you enjoy stories about young love and strong women. If you like sci-fi and action, you will also enjoy this film. It's not a huge part of the film, but it does a good job with what it has. If you like stories about coming into one's own, self discovery, or fighting "the man" you will find this movie entertaining.
Why You Might Hate It
If you're looking for a true sci-fi action flick, this movie is not for you. Sci-fi films tend to be very intelligent and very detail oriented, this movie unfortunately is not that. If you're looking for a true action flick, there are very few edge of your seat, nail biting moments in this movie. If you despise anything that has to do with romance and learning to externalize your feelings for others, this is not the movie for you.
Why You Should Give It A Chance
Despite being a romantic comedy disguised as a sci-fi action flick, it's a very entertaining romantic, sci-fi, action movie. It doesn't do any three of them exceptionally well, but it's an applaudable job of balancing the three. You should see this movie just to see how Gary Ross was able to blend these three genres, as well as adapt a book that is filled with internalisation and interpret them into external action.
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