Hunger games review fans

We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. The star rating reflects overall quality. Learn how we rate. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! The Hunger Games. Parents recommend Popular with kids. Intense adaptation is violent, thought-provoking for teens.

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Suggest an update The Hunger Games. Your privacy is important to us. We won't share this comment without your permission. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. See our privacy policy. A lot or a little? The parents' guide to what's in this movie. Stands out for positive role models. Positive Messages. Positive Role Models.

Very infrequent use of words like "damn," "hell," and "oh my God" as an exclamation. What parents need to know Parents need to know that although the bestselling Hunger Games books are enormously popular with tweens, there's a clear distinction between reading about violence and seeing it portrayed on screen in The Hunger Games. Continue reading Show less.

Stay up to date on new reviews. Get full reviews, ratings, and advice delivered weekly to your inbox. User Reviews Parents say Kids say. Adult Written by mwright March 23, Awesome movie!! I just got back home from watching this movie with my 15 year old daughter.

It was Awesome! I wouldn't recommend it for very young kids-but teens and older Continue reading. Report this review. Adult Written by Decaturmom March 23, I don't really understand why some think that his movie glorifies teens killing teens. I think quite the opposite is true. Is there violence?

No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. I am referring to the audience watching. Because the original Battle Royale japanese movie with a similar theme, was more of an adult version of this movie right here. Having said that, the idea is so good it translates to the screen, even if it is watered down a bit. Plus I was just enjoying the girls moaning and exhaling in general while watching this and finding romance even in the weirdest of situations. Apparently though the movie has not covered everything the novel had to offer which should be no surprise.

What should be a surprise to anyone who was living outside the US, is the fact, that this was one of the most anticipated movies in recent history though I'm more than happy that The Avengers beat them at the total box office of course.

Better drama, story and acting than Twilight, hopefully it stays that way and won't dwindle down the road Starting out, I'm not part of the target audience for this film so I approach it without knowing anything about it or having read the books on which the movie was based. Had the principal characters been adults doing battle as representative champions of their districts, I think I would have been better satisfied.

However the idea of kids killing each other for the entertainment of the masses speaks more to the hypocrisy of the American left and the liberal film industry than it does for telling a legitimate story. While promoting the legislation of strict gun control laws the same folks would argue that entertainment like this if that's what we want to call it does not in any way contribute to an increase in violence in the culture.

Flash mobs anyone? So with that out of the way I guess the rest is kind of moot for me. The film held my attention well enough but I had to call into question the motivations of the players once the Game got under way. Personally, I'd be wary of forming alliances with other gamers once I knew the objective was for them to kill me at some point.

And the idea that the game controllers could take an active part in targeting players and change the rules back and forth took it's toll on this viewer after a while. So maybe there was a point I missed in the set up to the story. What intrigued me more were the 'adult' concepts offered by President Snow Donald Sutherland when he warns Seneca Crane Wes Bentley on the direction the Game is taking - 'Hope is the only thing stronger than Fear; a little is effective, a lot is dangerous'.

Perhaps the sequels deal with this idea more effectively. I'll try to get to them in due time. What "The Hunger Games" depicts is so realistic that the movie itself seems redundant: a society divided between the haves and have-nots, a major event to pacify the masses, and violence used as entertainment with people desensitized to the inhumanity therein.

It reminded me of Norman Jewison's "Rollerball", which also depicts an ultra-violent sport that constitutes the entertainment in a totalitarian future. The movie itself isn't any kind of masterpiece, but it should force the viewer to stop and think for a minute. Much like Fritz Lang's "Metropolis", it poses the question of how any society came to be what it is: everything may look fine and dandy, but how authentic is it?

I had never heard of the series until the first movie came out and that weekend I went to see the Polish movie "In Darkness". Now that I've seen it, I can solemnly recommend it. Katniss Everdeen Jennifer Lawrence voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete. Although I have not read the books, I understood the general themes the story was about.

There are the games themselves, which seem to have been heavily influenced or inspired by "Battle Royale". And then there is the political commentary on inequality -- whether this is a critique of Rome, America today or just this imaginary world is up to the viewer to decide.

Jennifer Lawrence is great as usual, and it is nice to see Donald Sutherland in a small but important role. But overall I was actually a bit disappointed. For how hugely successful the books were, and how many people were excited for the movie, I did not find it to be anything really special. The plot is not all that creative and thought-provoking, despite the brilliant ideas they could have run with.

Maybe the sequels will step it up with the bigger budget, but this opening attempt did not impress. I heard a lot about this film when it was at the cinemas, it was based on a three part book series and was going to be some kind of big deal, so it sounded very similar to the Twilight hype, and I naturally had to see what the big deal was, from director Gary Ross Pleasantville, Seabiscuit. Basically in the dystopian future world called Panem, twelve districts have been divided to make the nation, every year these nations compete in the Capitol created and seemingly compulsory event called The Hunger Games, where a boy and girl aged between 12 and 18 are selected from each district to compete against the other eleven in a televised fight to the death.

Katniss Everdeen Winter's Bone's Jennifer Lawrence is the girl from District 12, the first person ever to volunteer for the games, after her younger sister Primrose 'Prim' Willow Shields was originally chosen from the lottery, the boy chosen by the lottery as tribute to represent District 12 is Peeta Mellark Zathura's Josh Hutcherson , the two of them already have a dramatic history.

Katniss and Peeta are taken by Effie Trinket Elizabeth Banks to the Capitol, they are mentored by past victor Haymitch Abernathy Woody Harrelson who explains the rules of The Hunger Games, how to get sponsors and the public to like your character and watch the show to create revenue and stuff, and how intensive training will guarantee you win. They begin their training at the special academies, and at the same time have TV interviews, this is where Peeta reveals that he has been in love with Katniss for some time, she is first outraged thinking he wants to win the sponsors for food and weapons that are provided, game commentators Caesar Flickerman Stanley Tucci and Claudius Templesmith Toby Jones see this is a great marketing ploy, but he does mean it about his feelings for her.

With Katniss getting a superb score, and Peeta getting a reasonably good score, they are ready to enter The Hunger Games, they begin with most of the tributes from the twelve districts being killed in the first few minutes, but Katniss and Peeta escape and go separate ways through the woods, finding their own ways and other people to help them survive.

Throughout the time Katniss escapes many attempts to get her killed, including a trap to tempt her towards some supplies from another district, deadly bees with venomous stings called Tracker Jackers, fires spread by the Gamekeepers to lead her in the intended directions towards her enemies, and she suffers the death of her friend Rue Amandla Stenberg from District Some of the districts have become an alliance in order to kill the girl they feel is most likely to win before they will do anything to each other, Katniss eventually reunites with Peeta who has survived some tough ordeals himself, of course throughout the games they have been broadcast all hours and portrayed as star-crossed lovers, but she may only be leading her male companion on for the sponsorship.

Finally it comes to the final showdown where the surviving members of Districts 5, 11 and 12 are face to face and will determine the end of the games; of course all are killed in this confrontation, apart from Katniss and Peeta who may both be victorious after the rule change of two winners instead of one. There is a moment where that rule may have changed back again, and Peeta says Katniss should shoot him, but she gives him half of the nightlock instead, the gamekeepers decide not to part the potential lovers and proclaim them both 74th annual Hunger Games victors, they return home, supposedly as true lovers.

Lawrence gives a great feisty and fascinating performance, Hutcherson is pretty alright too as the boy who loves her and vice versa, whereas Twilight is cheesy and often boring, this is actually an engaging story, similar in ways to Battle Royale, with more special effects, but the death hunting is not the only draw, the love story is nice, and the satire about reality television is interesting, for the fans of the books and those who like explosion and fight filled movies this is a terrific futuristic action thriller.

Very good! Tweekums 27 October Some time in the future in what was once America there has been an uprising; it was put down and now each year each of the twelve outlying districts must send two young people; one boy, one girl, to participate in the Hunger Games: here they must compete until only one is left alive.

This year young Primrose Everdeen is selected in the ballot to represent District She has little chance so her elder sister Katniss volunteers to take her place. She is skilled with a bow but the odds will still be stacked against her as some districts train people all of their lives for the games. Once selected, she is taken to the Capitol, along with Peeta Mellark the boy who will represent their district.

Here they meet the other competitors and work to attract the sponsors who will be vital if one of them is to win. Once the games begin it is everybody for themselves although temporary alliances may form everybody knows only one of them can ultimately survive.

The games don't actually start till the film is approaching its midpoint; this means the first half is spent effectively introducing the main characters and the world they live in. Josh Hutcherson did a good enough job as Peeta although his character was obviously less interesting.

There were also a few well known names amongst the supporting cast; Woody Harrelson put in a fun turn as their mentor, former District 2 winner, Haymitch Abernathy and Donald Sutherland was suitably sinister as President Snow. Shot in a stunning woodland setting the games are filmed in a way that makes the viewer feel part of the action in a way that was surprisingly tense for a twelve certificate film starring a young cast.

I would certainly recommend this for others but think parents might want to watch it first as it might be too frightening for some children even those officially old enough to see it!

In a dystopian future , totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. A fascist government led by President Snow Donald Sutherland has forged a program for teens , broadcasting live like a reality television movie. In this fictional universe, some teenagers are randomly selected and sent into forests during various days to participate in The Hunger Games.

Teens are given an only chance , all they have to do is survive an on going battle with especially trained young assassins in the woods. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim Shields , is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss Jennifer Lawrence volunteers to take her place.

She and her male counterpart Peeta Josh Hutcherson , are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives the nasty Alexander Ludwig who have trained for this their whole lives.

This exciting film contains dramatic events , action , thrills, suspense , blood and is plenty of graphical violence. Special effects laden adaptation of the Suzanne Collins novel about a futuristic TV game show in which each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games.

Excellent action sequences with bloody attacks and violent and blistering struggles. The movie displays strong and realistic battles ; furthermore an enjoyable love story among teens. Jennifer Lawrence is an appropriate warrior in a powerful performance though Josh Hutcherson is miscast. Emotive and thrilling musical score by James Newton Howard.

Colorful and adequate cinematography by Tom Stern. The motion picture was well directed by Gary Ross Seabiscuit , Pleasantville. Rating : Good , better than average. Well worth watching. A PG-rated Battle Royale. The Running Man with mood swings and acne. The mere thought of a Hollywood adaptation of the latest novel to grace every teenagers' bookshelf was enough to make me shudder in fear I've seen Twilight; that was enough for me.

How could they possibly make this derivative, undoubtedly tame, and probably sappy nonsense appeal to anyone other than hormonal adolescents? Amazingly, they have. With decent direction from Gary Ross, a fine central performance from the rather lovely Jennifer Lawrence who reminds me of a young Renee Zellweger, which ain't a bad thing , plus memorable supporting turns from Woody Harrelson so cool , Isabelle Fuhrman so scary , and Donald Sutherland so loathsome , I have to admit that the film was a lot more fun than I expected it to be.

In the future, after war has ravaged the planet and turned the basic rules of society inside-out, a bloodthirsty public goes wild for a reality show in which different young people are selected as participants mostly against their will in a survivor-take-all outdoor showdown. Director Gary Ross, who also co-adapted the screenplay from Suzanne Collins' book with Collins and Billy Ray , throws a lot at the screen action, family drama, teen romance yet is relatively unable to erase the distastefulness from this scenario which isn't made palatable simply by putting the context of human exploitation within a totalitarian society framework.

Jennifer Lawrence doesn't have a particularly expressive voice or face, though she makes us care for the central character, a tough young woman who volunteers to substitute for her little sister after the child is chosen as a participant during the preliminary 'reaping.

Well-produced and occasionally gripping, despite over-the-top visual effects, jittery camera-work and simple scenes edited to a fare-thee-well, apparently by filmmakers who didn't trust the collective attention spans of the movie-going public.

A future dystopian society where kids must kill kids. TxMike 23 August A dystopia is the idea of a society, generally of a speculative future, characterized by negative, anti-utopian elements, varying from environmental to political and social issues,usually hypothesized by writers of fiction.

Yes, "Hunger Games" is about a future dystopian society, decades after a rebellion. As a type of penance and reminder that the Capitol has the power, each year each of the 12 outlying districts must choose two youngsters, one boy and one girl, to travel to the Capitol and participate in the Hunger Games.

This is the 74th Games. There will be one victor, one survivor, all the rest will die. Children killing other children. This story focuses on district 12, a mining district where people struggle to feed themselves and have established a barter system. Katniss Everdeen Jennifer Lawrence is the older daughter of the family, she hunts and fishes, is good with a bow and arrow and survival in general.

Against the odds her younger sister, more the girly type, is chosen in the lottery, but Katniss speaks up and volunteers to go in her place. Along with the boy, Peeta Mellark Josh Hutcherson that she only knew casually.

The story becomes one of survival. Neither Katniss nor Peeta want to kill any of the other kids, but they also are determined to defend themselves.

The days, perhaps most of a week, of the actual competition takes place mostly in a forested area, monitored by technicians in a center with virtual reality displays. The citizens of the Capitol look at the Hunger games as a big entertainment event, perhaps like the ancient Romans did for their arena battles to the death. A saving grace for the movie is that, although we know kids are killing kids, it is done with a certain grace.

We don't see a lot of blood and gore, or graphic killings, which makes the movie more palatable for such a distasteful topic. Fortunately the main story of survival turns into a love story as Katniss and Peeta form a sort of bond, particularly after he reveals in a pre-games televised interview that he has always had a secret admiration of Katniss.

Stanley Tucci is one of the flamboyant citizens of the Capitol, he moderates the "show" before the games begin, interviewing each participant before a live audience in a large theater setting.

He comes across most as a host of a TV show like "America's Got Talent", ignoring the fact that almost all of these young kids will die shortly. I didn't read the book so I can't compare the two, but I suspect they had to leave some things out to keep the running time around I found the movie enjoyable, it makes one think about the freedoms we mostly take for granted.

So to generate interest they announce, and the participants hear this, that for one time only they will allow two survivors for the same district, if it turns out that way, to play up the budding relationship of Katniss and Peeta. They in fact do "win" the Games, but then it is announced that they changed their minds, one must kill the other.

Peeta encourages Katniss to kill him so that she can survive, but instead she gets a handful of poisonous purple berries, and indicates they will both eat them at the same time, both die rather than have to kill one. Peeta starts to object but Katniss says, "Trust me. Trust me. Quinoa 30 November It's a series that is marketed for the 'young adult' market, and it does have a strong female protagonist and a romantic love-triangle and things like that.

But it's far less in the tradition of Twilight - Suzanne Collins can right and craft characters and make a strong, interesting point of view Katniss narrates all three of the books - than it does stuff like The Running Man or even The Long Walk the Bachman books set in dystopia or of course and things like that. This review contains spoilers , click expand to view.

Deathmonger Apr 7, Very close to the book, don't know what people are whining about. Only bad thing was shaky camera in first 15 minutes, then later in "distress" scenes. Totally unnecessary and annoying. Yes book is better, but what can you do in 2 hours and 13 min? Pretty much what they did. I do hope Very close to the book, don't know what people are whining about. I do hope to see extended scenes of Peeta's injury and reaction by Katniss as they have to operate on him in the DVD.

Other than that, everything was great. The movie does not do justice to the book, nor to the characters. The character of Katmis is well portrayed by a talented actress. However the move seems more interested in the environment and techie tricks than in the depth of the characters that were developed in the book. Unlike the excellent book, the movie seems to have chosen flash and style over substance.

I submitted a review but not a rating, so my 2 and a half star review has a rating of I'd actually rate this a 6. The movie disappointed me by lacking the urgency of the book, being too shallow not that the book was really deep , failing to convey Katniss' and other characters' inner I submitted a review but not a rating, so my 2 and a half star review has a rating of The movie disappointed me by lacking the urgency of the book, being too shallow not that the book was really deep , failing to convey Katniss' and other characters' inner selves, and not carrying sufficient weight for the subject matter.

I don't want more actual gore, but they failed to convey the disturbing, horrific nature of the Games. I've been more disturbed at TV dramas. The audience in my theater barely reacted, and walked out as soon as the credits started as if they were no more affected than the people in the Capitol. Basically, what was good about the book was missing. Maybe I'd have thought it was better if I hadn't known what was coming, but if a movie has to rely just on suspense for its value, it's pretty shallow.

And if I hadn't read the book, I would have misread many character motivations, which were largely glossed over and simplified. I would have misconstrued the climax for sure. This seemed like a sure-fire book-to-film transfer, but the book is so much better. Jennifer Lawrence is the best thing about the movie; I just wish her role has been written better. I'm not really sure if i should compared the movie to the book. What i really loved about the books was the "Katniss-Perspective" which the movie didn't have a ruined it quite a bit.

A lot of the books are about Katniss thoughts I'm not really sure if i should compared the movie to the book. A lot of the books are about Katniss thoughts about everything and everyone around here. And the movie didn't give away that feeling at all. And like another person wrote about the movie that i fully agree with: "The cinematography was so terrible. And i understand that it's quite hard to fit in everything.