The Hunger Games
Dir: Gary Ross
2012
***
I have not read the book. 65 million people can't be wrong though can they? Well yes, they can, when all 65 million of them are either 12 year olds or adults who really should be reading adult books. Okay, without wanting to sound like a grumpy old man (which I find hard not to do) this film is based on a book that is in that new category that I loath more than anything; 'Young Adult'. Basically, copy a story from a 'Real Adult' book, swap the adults for kids, make it in to a series and there you have it, a success, because kids will buy into anything these days. I was reading Charles Dickens when I was a 'Young Adult' and loving every minute of it. I digress. I didn't hate The Hunger Games, I just prefer the films it has blatantly ripped off, The Running Man and Battle Royale to name but a few. Unlike in the films it does rip off, the reasons the children are sacrificed the way they are is pretty far fetched and thin on the ground, another sign that this is the biggest theft in the entertainment business today. The film itself is okay, I like Jennifer Lawrence and even though I love Battle Royale, at least the hunger games doesn't have all the silly high-school romances and over acting love sick school boys, but I again digress, it's an okay film but it does leave me wondering, Is this really what all the fuss is about?