Hunger Games

La seule chose valable dans ce film, son thème, a déjà fait l’objet d’un film, à savoir la satire provocante, originale et énergique qu’était Battle Royale. La version américaine s’efforce de passer pour un thriller sérieux et captivant avec un segment narratif romantique, mais est en réalité d’une longueur indigeste et pleine de clichés et fait appel à des maquillages et costumes qu’on aurait pu imaginer dans un « Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver l'humanité ? Le retour » avec Adam Sandler. Ma deuxième étoile ira au jeu sobre étonnamment plaisant des deux personnages principaux, qui sont les seuls attributs du film qui ne ressemblent pas à une mauvaise plaisanterie. (23/03/2012)

Mais qu’est-ce que le traitement cinématographique de cette histoire m’a déçu ! En lisant le livre, je me réjouissais véritablement à l’idée que c'était une matière rêvée pour une adaptation au grand écran. Je voyais déjà l’action et m'emballais comme un gamin. Et justement, cette effervescence puérile m’a fait me fourrer le doigt dans l’œil ! C’est que la première moitié est absolument tirée en longueur jusqu’à risquer de perdre le spectateur et la deuxième moitié n’utilise pas correctement tout le potentiel que lui offre le modèle littéraire. Et puis, est-ce que les non-lecteurs comprendront seulement La Renarde et Thresh et ce qui s’est passé entre Katniss et Peeta dans le passé ? Je ne vais pas me plaindre davantage, mais il y a du pain sur la planche si on veut espérer convertir les fans lecteurs en fans spectateurs avec la suite. (03/08/2012)

Twilight for fifteen year-old intellectuals, and I don’t mean it as bad as it may sound. Hunger Games is for the same age group as that other rubbish, but at least it tries (and in the book maybe successfully, I don’t know, can’t judge, didn’t read it) to deliver some social criticism, it’s also about a lot more than whether some unstable idiot will take a vampire or a werewolf as her lover, and the motivations of the protagonists are much deeper. As an undemanding blockbuster, it’s pretty good, it looks quite nice (given the low budget), and the art design of the Capitol and its inhabitants was captivating. The most interesting themes, though, are only sketched out, but maybe the upcoming sequels will manage to complete them, I’m curious. What bothered me the most was the unrealistic behaviour of the characters in the Arena and the fact that I didn’t understand at all how the institution of the Hunger Games is supposed to help the Capitol rule the other regions. The film is not great by any means, but it was decent fun. Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant. 7/10 (28/03/2012)

The Hunger Games is another of those interesting fantasy book series that got adapted into a Hollywood movie. I was quite reluctant to see this. Even though I like fantasy films very much, I never know what to expect from them, and what I’ve seen lately was mostly so mediocre that it made me sad. But in the end, I made time for The Hunger Games one Sunday afternoon. I chose Sunday because the film has almost three hours. A film of this length must inevitably have some balls to grab my attention and keep me from falling asleep. The first half an hour was an introduction to the fantasy world in question. There was nothing much going on, but it served its purpose. Nevertheless, at the moment the titular hunger games kicked off, I started to enjoy the movie very much. I found the premise really intriguing, and the way this movie was shot is also not exactly ordinary. The story is quite realistic, with a lot of food for thought. And I must say that even though I felt kind of skeptical about this fantasy world at first, over time I grew fond of it and I began to wonder what the creators – and the source book – have in store for us next time. So yes, I must say that there is something about this world. The execution is also well-done, so the remaining two and half hours passed in the blink of an eye. I was satisfied with the result, and now I’m curious about the sequel. (13/12/2013)

It regrettably misses the mark as a social parable and a critique of a reality show (the classic misguided product syndrome: I criticize myself and I’m not aware of it), as a sci-fi hopelessly non-original, toothless as an action film, pubertal dull as a drama... the argument that it is the absolute opposite of Twilight does not stand up - simply because the heroine is "tough and unyielding", that director Ross and especially cinematographer Stern are at a higher level (the raw filming raises it above average), and that the story has a certain deeper subtext - is not enough. The Hunger Games is similarly poser-like dull and harmlessly consumable. I would like to write that this is The Truman Show for teenagers, but the truth is that this is all to which Weir's film is critically defined. If only it worked as "simple entertainment". But it doesn't. Without knowledge of the book, it is confused, unfinished and overwhelmed with obligatory clichés and affected by a very tied up imagination. (21/03/2012)