Honestly, for something that’s made for teenage girls, it’s really not that bad. The concept and socio-political metaphors are unlikely to blow the adult mind (it’s of course very reminiscent of Battle Royale), but they work well enough. Sometimes it holds your hand a little too much, or the dialogue/sequence of events feels too melodramatic, but given the intended audience I can look past some of that. I also quite like how it wraps up by using this theme of popularity by having the protagonists use it as a currency to cheat their way out of a broken system, even if that robs the film of a more genuine, emotional conclusion. There’s also some pretty intricate worldbuilding going on here, and the main characters are all pretty well defined. I especially love how cartoonish and exaggerated Panem feels. However, I’m less into the directing of this film. Sometimes the shaky cam/fast edit approach feels very distracting, or it’s used to cover up the violence. There’s a rough aesthetic to the film that mostly works in its favour, however sometimes it feels cheap (e.g. CGI fire dress). I also feel like because of that the second half of the film doesn’t entirely deliver on the excitement that’s promised in the first half. The film’s pretty well paced, but I still think it’s generally too long (how many scenes do we need illustrating that Peeta is better than Katniss at handling the media?) The acting can also be a bit rough, especially from the younger cast. Thankfully, like the earlier Harry Potter installments, the experienced veterans are never far away to elevate the material. Bentley, Sutherland and Banks aren’t being challenged here (in fact, their looks do most of the work), but I appreciate any YA film that doesn’t exclusively pander to the YA audience.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2023-11-06T23:29:35Z— updated 2023-11-13T22:48:20Z
Honestly, for something that’s made for teenage girls, it’s really not that bad. The concept and socio-political metaphors are unlikely to blow the adult mind (it’s of course very reminiscent of Battle Royale), but they work well enough. Sometimes it holds your hand a little too much, or the dialogue/sequence of events feels too melodramatic, but given the intended audience I can look past some of that. I also quite like how it wraps up by using this theme of popularity by having the protagonists use it as a currency to cheat their way out of a broken system, even if that robs the film of a more genuine, emotional conclusion. There’s also some pretty intricate worldbuilding going on here, and the main characters are all pretty well defined. I especially love how cartoonish and exaggerated Panem feels. However, I’m less into the directing of this film. Sometimes the shaky cam/fast edit approach feels very distracting, or it’s used to cover up the violence. There’s a rough aesthetic to the film that mostly works in its favour, however sometimes it feels cheap (e.g. CGI fire dress). I also feel like because of that the second half of the film doesn’t entirely deliver on the excitement that’s promised in the first half. The film’s pretty well paced, but I still think it’s generally too long (how many scenes do we need illustrating that Peeta is better than Katniss at handling the media?) The acting can also be a bit rough, especially from the younger cast. Thankfully, like the earlier Harry Potter installments, the experienced veterans are never far away to elevate the material. Bentley, Sutherland and Banks aren’t being challenged here (in fact, their looks do most of the work), but I appreciate any YA film that doesn’t exclusively pander to the YA audience.
5/10