My First Time … Watching ‘The Hunger Games’

I like to think of myself as a savvy filmgoer who tries to attend as many screenings as my tight NYC budget will allow. I must have been sleeping under a rock in March of 2012, however, because I completely missed The Hunger Games, which I’m finally watching for the first time.

Perhaps it was because I never read the books by Suzanne Collins, or maybe it was because I thought Jennifer Lawrence was god-awful in Winter’s Bone and mentally checked out before I could hear any hype about Hollywood’s newest It Girl. With the late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s birthday coming up, and all of the anticipation building around the November release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I, it might be a good time to finally watch the movie that made the masses go completely bonkers — not only for JLaw, but also over the character of Rue being too dark skinned for some folks’ liking. (This came out in 2012 right? Just checking.)

As a virgin to the book series and film franchise, here are some thoughts while watching for the first time two years after its release.

4:44: Where to find JLaw early in her career: the slums and the woods. The opening sequence of Katniss running through her poverty-stricken district and into the woods are strikingly similar Winter’s Bone‘s opening moments. What an outdoorsy gal you are, Jennifer.

5:51: Wait, that’s Elizabeth Banks?! Super creepy in every sense of the word, but I’m loving it.

7:28: All of these kids look pretty well fed.

16:14: Mom is clearly overcome with emotion right now. So much so that she can’t show any emotion, let alone cry. Even though her daughter just volunteered to die. Nope, still not sad, huh?

17:21: Wait, wait, wait… Everyone just hold on a second. THAT’S PEETA? ARE YOU KIDDING?! Let’s get this straight: she has to choose, as a love interest, between this chump and Liam Hemsworth? No way. This kid still has baby fat.

23:54: Had no idea Woody Harrelson is in this. What a pleasant surprise among all of this bleakness.

30:50: How could you be afraid JLaw with that ‘do? She should have revisited this style for the Oscars.

32:40: OK, they do look pretty good together. That fiery entrance really helped. It worked, Peeta: your hand-holding tactic made me fall in love with you guys as a couple just a little bit.

47:30: Still can’t get over that Lenny Kravitz in this and he’s smooth as ever. Maybe it’s because I’m completely ignorant to his backstory, but is he just supposed to be a really caring mentor toward Katniss or is he kind of in love with her? I can’t tell, but I kind of like the ambiguity.

52:46: OH MY GOD THAT’S ESTHER FROM ORPHAN. And she’s teamed up with the angry blond killing machine. Save yourselves, people.

58:51: That confession was pretty cute. Now I see why she might fall for Peeta even if he hasn’t gotten his 12-year molars yet.

1:06:10: Lenny’s intentions are confusing once again. If he’s supposed to love her like a daughter, this isn’t exactly clear.

1:15:19: That infant turned on our girl?! This is too much to handle right now. Bet Liam Hemsworth wouldn’t have done such a thing. Scoff.

1:20:30: Wow, a couple of arrows shot unsuccessfully and they phone it in for the night on trying to kill Katniss up in the tree. “Let’s wait her out.” Okay, there’s four of you and one of her and she’s injured. If you tried just a little harder, this whole Hunger Games headache would be over a lot quicker. Not to root against our heroine, but that particular moment felt oddly lazy all around.

1:23:18: The tributes are allowed to get help from the outside? The Cabin in the Woods-like controls from the headquarters is super cool, but isn’t it cheating/favoritism if mentors are allowed to send medicine and other helpful items by parachute? Again, not to root against Katniss, but I was under the impression this would be a fair fight to the death.

1:44:30: Wow, this movie took a turn for the emotional after Rue’s death. That little girl was the sweetest thing ever.

1:47:30: Ew, why is Peeta a rock? He looks like the Annoying Orange. What a stupid, unnecessary disguise.

1:52:00: This is the face of rejection. I know, Gale, I couldn’t believe she kissed Peeta, either. Onto the next one, my friend. Stay strong.

2:08:00: Poison berries?! This suddenly became a Romeo and Juliet tale.

2:12:30: “I don’t want to forget.” Oh Peeta, ever the hopeless romantic.

Final thoughts:

Aside from it being a touch too long and leaving me hanging with a few unanswered questions (was Katniss playing Peeta just so she’d make it to the end alive? Did Peeta ever explain himself for siding with the other tributes in the first place? What is Lenny Kravitz doing now?), it was as solid a Hollywood adventure flick as it gets.

However, even with the frame of mind that these characters are based on their more detailed novel counterparts, the overall lack of emotion from the tributes was distractingly bothersome. There was little-to-no reaction to the situation they’ve been put in, both leading up to the games and during. There could have been way more nervous breakdowns and crying fits. C’mon, you’re fighting to the death, people!

While I enjoyed the movie, it made me wish I had read the book before seeing it. In general, I felt totally detached from the characters and was dying to know more about their backstories, but that aspect was skipped over almost entirely.

Will I watch Catching Fire next? If it’s on TV, sure. Will I wait around anxiously for Mockingjay Parts I & II to come out? Definitely not. At least now that I’m no longer in the 1% of the American population who hasn’t seen it, I’m feeling a little extra hip right now.

Find out where you can stream The Hunger Games on GoWatchIt.