Ensign Lestat's Film Log, 07/12/2013
The first 'The Hunger Games' film was a massive success. I was not taken in by the hype, but eventually watched it (probably under duress) because my sister wanted a second opinion for her magazine review. I was definitely impressed, though I still believe that world has some logistical issues to sort out. But that might be because it's all in the books and didn't have the chance to get ironed out in the film.
'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' came with as much hype and a great deal of expectation. The film premiered in Europe before it did here, and I read endless headlines about Jennifer Lawrence and her character Katniss Everdeen.
What I enjoyed most about the first film was its subversion of popular tropes. Katniss was a strong female character, who won the games because of her physical and mental prowess. She was an everywoman who had succeeded due to self-taught survival skills. She was an identifiable character, who didn't pine for love at every given moment.
'Catching Fire' takes place around a year after the previous film. The two District 12 winners, Katniss and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) will be touring the many districts as part of the promotional event for the games. This causes some problems, apparently, as President Snow (Donald Sutherland) lands up at Katniss' house and threatens her and her family. Why? Because, he's concerned that audiences do not believe her and Peeta's love story. Voila! That is why everyone must die, apparently.
Anyway, they go on tour, and there appears to be a hint of discontent in many districts. There is discontent at home too - Gale (Liam Hemsworth) was Katniss' love interest in the first film, but it appears the two of them are finding it difficult to continue their relationship. It's evident Katniss is suffering from PTSD. She is also almost hostile to poor Peeta, who continues to look like a wounded puppy.
Concerned about the impending rioting, squads are sent to districts to maintain discipline. This is a particularly harrowing scene, as these squads barge in like the Nazis and start attacking people and places at random.
In the meantime, Snow is adamant he wants to kill Katniss' image (of hope), and he starts working with new games-maker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to find a way to get rid of her.
So, the new plan is thus - for the 75th games, the Tributes will be selected from the current crop of champions. Katniss is the only female winner from her district, while there are two male ones - Peeta and their mentor from the previous games, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Haymitch's name comes up, but Peeta volunteers. They leave.
We again have a long sequence of prepping and introducing the other Tributes. This time around Katniss actually befriends some of them, as does Peeta. Of these Tributes, there is the former youngest winner of the games, Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin), his partner Mags (Lynn Cohen), tech genius Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and the fiery Johanna Mason (Jena Malone). These are the only characters of real note, the others have seriously insignificant roles.
These games are obviously tougher as they're all up against previous champs. Katniss and Peeta gang up with Finnick and Mags. Finnick is sporting the bracelet that Haymitch was given by Effie (Elizabeth Banks), which is what sways Katniss to trust him.
It's not long before Tributes start dying. The main gang also have their losses. Eventually they meet Johanna and Beetee. Beetee hatches a plan to hopefully short-circuit the arena's dome. Unfortunately, this plan goes sideways when the other Tributes attack. The film ends with the surety that nothing will be the same anymore.
The first film followed a very straight-forward path - survive or die. This film has a lot more going on, or at least implies the same. My analysis may contain spoilers, so beware.
1. Love triangle - So much for being an antithesis to 'Twilight'. I can tell you that putting the romance between Peeta and Katniss front and center right in the beginning of the film bothered me. It was very underplayed in the first film. In fact, I spent a great deal of it wondering if Peeta too wasn't just playing to the gallery as well as Katniss, and that was really refreshing. But here, Gale seems hungry to put a seal on this relationship, while Katniss seems at first too distracted to care, then utterly undecided and confused. Throw in the fact that Finnick tries to come on to her real strong, and you've got one very baffled viewer.
This film features way too much snogging, and the triangle is very prominent. Katniss can't seem to make up her mind - she's close to Gale, but does not show any affection towards him. On the other hand she's hostile to Peeta, but turns protective when he joins the games. Then halfway through she says that she cares about him, and snogging ensues. At the end of the film she's distraught that Peeta has been captured, and shows no specific emotion towards Gale who is right next to her. I don't know what the point of this triangle is. Katniss has apparently grown up with or at least known Gale for a long time. One felt, in the first film, that the two of them had reached that point in their relationship where they were comfortable with each other - it wasn't about sparks, and saying 'I love you' at every moment. But, here, she's suffering from PTSD, but Gale doesn't seem to be there for her. The romance felt overpowering and I believe it detracted from the overall story.
2. The audience - The hideous notion of people watching a live death-match didn't come across in this film, because we never saw the audience. This time around, we viewed the games almost exclusively from the point of view of the Tributes, and occasionally from the point of view of Snow and Heavensbee. The whole point that this is the basest form of entertainment was lost. Granted, we understand at the end of the film that there have been uprisings and District 12 has been razed to the ground, so the fact is, there was probably no one watching the games anyway, but it felt a lot like it lost that touch from the first film.
3. Pace - Yes, the first film had a relatively slow build up. Yes, the games took up around a quarter, maybe less of the screen time, but it still built up the world, and introduced us to the huge cast of characters. This film felt like it put a great deal of emphasis on all the wrong moments.
The initial touring scene appeared to be the main focus at first. The touring was supposed to show us how hard Katniss and Peeta were trying to convince Snow that their love was real - they go as far as to get engaged, but seriously, aren't they supposed to be TEENAGERS? The actors maybe in their early twenties, but I'm pretty sure the characters are supposed to be younger. So, yes, how odd. But, yes, since in all the trailers we already knew they were going to be in the games again, and surely the writers and director knew that they would have to show that in the trailers, it made little sense to put so much emphasis on it. Or, maybe I just like complaining a lot.
I also fail to see the point of the overlong introduction of the many Tributes - it makes no sense, because they have absolutely nothing to do. Aquaman is big and scary, but gets flayed by a single arrow from Katniss. We don't even catch the faces of most of the others. A lot of the Tributes we get to see only once they're dead. Introducing them just adds to the length of the film, but adds no substance. I would rather have gotten to know Beetee, Johanna, Finnick and Mags better.
In the end, the most interesting part - the games and the subsequent rescue, and lastly the great reveal that Finnick, Heavensbee, Beetee and some of the other Tributes were in on a plan with Haymitch to get Katniss out of there and start a rebellion is seriously rushed. In fact, before Katniss gets injured and rescued, the scene with Finnick is very confusing, or at least it was to me. He seems to be running around like a nutter but doesn't seem to be succeeding at locating anyone. And, how'd he lose Peeta anyway? I suppose the next film will explain that.
The film ends very abruptly, as Katniss gives the audience the enraged look. It's a very Western movie concept, which works because there is a Western genre feel to the film.
4. Katniss - Jennifer Lawrence plays this character very straight-laced, with little to no emotion on display. I like that she's a tall, big-boned girl who looks like she could fend off an army. It really adds to the depth of the character, because the audience would never be able to believe her survival skills if she were skinny. Recently Lawrence mentioned that her aim was to be fit and strong, and many have written that she is setting a whole new set of ideals for women's looks. I think that is really important, considering she is young and very popular. She may have a positive impact on youngsters.
My trouble is that the media are always trying to shove it down our throats that she is extremely beautiful, when in fact I fail to understand why that is important at all. She can be a talented actress whose characters have love interests and partners without being drop dead gorgeous. Why does that matter? I say this because so many film promotions mention how beautiful the lady is, and sometimes these ladies actually are, but they don't mention the guy, because he's not good looking at all. Why can't the opposite take place? Why can't it be that the okay-looking lady is leading the film, and happens to have a partner on screen who is attractive? It can happen. And we can still like the female actor, and find her attractive, not conventionally, but because there's more to her than just her looks, and that's what makes her attractive. Maybe the media are already trying to do that, but it doesn't come across as such. Lawrence plays the character well enough, without setting the screen on fire, but I wouldn't necessarily be commenting on her looks.
While Katniss is undoubtedly the main protagonist, and again she is more than capable, in the end it felt a little like she was just going through the motions, and was being swept along with the tide. I say this because a lot of people were in on the plan to keep her alive till Haymitch got her out of the games. Also, it appears that she's pretty much on a death wish in these games. It's either she dies or Peeta does, and she doesn't want him to die. So, she's just going through the motions, somehow survive. Whereas, outside, Haymitch and others have already planned a way to get her out. So, how long was all this going on? During the prep period, perhaps that's when Haymitch and Heavensbee began recruiting people to help Katniss and Peeta - the chosen ones were those who these two had befriended. Makes sense. But if she's the symbol of hope, how come she's the only one who knows nothing about this plan? I would have preferred it if Katniss had a more active role in heading the revolution. I may have to eat my words when the next film comes out, but as of now, I felt that she didn't play a significant enough role in a movement made in her name. I don't know, but I feel like if it were a male character, he would be instigating the revolution, not trying to hide from it. Or, I'm just seriously biased.
5. The games - This isn't a complaint about the games as much as it is about the run-up to them. I've already mentioned the inordinate time wasted on unnecessary introductions. But that's not my only problem. There's this overlong scene where the Tributes are on TV and talking to the host, Stanley Tucci. Katniss is rolling her eyes at one of the Tributes crying, and then Haymitch says something like this is their way of trying to stop the games, and suddenly the Tributes we see all insinuate that they don't want to be here and that the games shouldn't go ahead. I'm pretty sure this was properly fleshed out in the book, but in the film it was a sudden jolt. We know that Katniss and Peeta aren't happy to be here, but even they come across as resigned to their fates. The other Tributes, in the training room, seem more than happy to be there. So the TV show seems a little contrived. Almost like they needed to make sure Tucci actually had something to do. It's again the issue with the pacing.
6. Gale - In the first film Gale had nothing to do, but he would occasionally appear on-screen, if only for him to witness Katniss' actions. But, in this film, once they leave for the games, we do not see him at all. Not until the end. I suppose I feel that Hemsworth's role is inadequate because I am unused to seeing a male character being inactive on screen. They're always in action, doing something. So, to see one just going about his daily routine, going through the motions of regular life is extremely alien for on-screen viewing. That's my assumption anyway. I'm told Gale will play a much more significant role in the storyline to come, so perhaps finally this role will be worth it for him.
The only time Gale comes to life is during the raid on District 12. He tackles one of the cops, and... that's it. He gets beat up, and next we see him is when Katniss gets to the square. In the short time that she saw him tackle the cop, and helped a neighbour escape, he got captured by the cops, was stripped of his shirt, and had been immensely flogged. Katniss and Haymitch have to save him. Also, in a rare case in films, once they free him from his shackles, the whole lot of them have to actually heal his immense injuries. Usually the hero just gets back up and does whatever has to be done. Gale suffers, very loudly and tearfully. This again brings that element of realism and grit to the story.
7. The other Tributes - Peeta in this film is only slightly more capable than in the first, but he remains as accident prone as ever, and mostly useless. Poor lad. Finnick, Johanna and Beetee are all quite the opposite - they are extremely capable, and are at hand to assist Katniss on the rare occasion she needs them. Johanna saves Katniss from plummeting into the water, Beetee is the key to her rescue and Finnick is a debonair with his sword. He also constantly has Peeta's back.
Johanna is fiery and feisty, she speaks her mind and knows her way around a blade. Not sure why she needed to take her kit off in an elevator with three other people in it, but that scene got cut where I live so I didn't have to see that. She was an effective character, who thankfully didn't have a romantic story attached to her. I'm not the biggest fan of Jena Malone because I feel she's a bit too distinctive a personality to truly embody another character, but she ably pulls off this character. She has the physicality to convince us she's done this before, which helps.
I'll confess that I was super excited when Jeffrey Wright popped up on screen. I didn't know he was in the film. His Beetee is comfortably quirky, while being eminently likable. He brought that much-required maturity to the scenes with the Tributes, and I enjoyed it whenever he was on screen.
As I mentioned, Peeta continues to be a damsel in distress. Hutcherson is quite small, hence he can easily pull off this character's gentle and inherent weakness. Peeta's not a coward, but he's not really had the proper training to survive the games. I didn't really notice his acting, he did the job, that's all he needed to do. He is very easy on the eyes, of course, which makes him a pleasure to watch. Unfortunately he looks twelve years old. Sigh.
One of the big announcements of last year was that Claflin would be playing Finnick. From what I've read, Finnick is supposed to be fabulous-looking, so there were mixed reactions to his casting. I am neutral to Claf, though my sister thinks he's very attractive, and he was definitely one of the main reasons I was dragged to see the film. Claf is English, so he had to put on an accent in this film, and I think that affected the way he spoke. In his first scene, he definitely spoke in a very strange fashion, which I'm sure is not his natural way of speaking. He bulked up for the role, and definitely looks very attractive. Acting-wise... well, he's fine. But his one sincere scene, when he's looking into the camera, trying to convince the world that the games shouldn't go ahead by declaring his undying love for his beloved, Annie, is... hilarious! I do not know why, but that is just how it came across, which is a real pity, because he plays it straight. Oh well.
What I found interesting is that we are told later that Annie is mentally unstable, but he is very devoted to her. This may not be completely true considering he was coming on to Katniss at their first meeting, unless he thought that was a way of making friends (is that ever a good idea?). But, assuming the latter, I find it subversive that Finnick, a very attractive lad is devoted to a woman who appears to be suffering from the psychological scars of being in the games. This rarely happens in literature, and even less so in films. Women writers often include elements that most male writers disregard because that's not how they see the world. Not saying this happens all the time, just most of the time.
Finnick turns out to be an all-out good guy. He saves Peeta almost immediately after the games begin. Now, I'm going to point out something rather odd, but when was the last time you saw one male actor giving CPR to another male actor? Last time I saw that was in 'Torchwood'. Iron Man even makes a joke about it in 'The Avengers'. It just doesn't happen. However, I did notice that the camera kept tilting up whenever Finnick was breathing life into Peeta. How come? Why is it so uncomfortable for Finnick to resuscitate Peeta? I know this whole log has been a debate on sexism in cinema, but that's one of the novelties of this series, it subverts the usual tropes and brings into stark contrast that which already exists.
One last point about Finnick, and this concerns his relationship with Mags. Finnick won the games when he was fourteen. He's the youngest to have won. And he did it with the help of Mags. Mags, in fact, volunteers for these games in place of Annie, and in the end she dies to save Finnick and the others. My sister and I ended up liking Mags a lot. She couldn't speak, but she was very helpful, and her chemistry with Finnick was very strong. He carried her everywhere, which must have been difficult for the characters. The two of them seemed to know each other really well, and you could see they worked well as a team.
However, when Mags goes to sacrifice herself, her parting gesture is to give Finnick a farewell kiss. I suppose this kiss was supposed to come across as a maternal goodbye, but it did not. And since no one else noticed it, I've come to the conclusion that I have a seriously dirty mind! Oh my GAWD! But, it's not my fault. I spent a good part of the film believing that there was something going on between Finnick and Mags because they had extremely crazy chemistry with each other. I only realised later, when Finnick was screaming Annie's name, that his beloved was not Mags. Holy moly! Did I misread that or what? I'd like to blame the actors and their chemistry. I think I shall.
Organised list of complaints aside, the film is entertaining, but tries to put in too much without explaining enough. This is a prologue to the last book, and feels like that. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, and a great deal of inferences to be made from outside sources. I don't know how good an adaptation this is, but for someone who's not read the books, I had to troll through a lot of IMDb forums to understand the characters and their motivations.
Also, this film suffers from the 'show, don't tell' syndrome. It's exposition-heavy, telling us all the stuff that we could perhaps have been shown. It felt like it lacked the understanding that Gary Ross brought to it. Also, Suzanne Collins was not on the writing team, and I think that touch was lacking in this film. It being her story, she may have been able to guide the new team on what would be necessary, and what not. Where the first film felt accomplished, this one seems much like it's trying to put in all the essentials, but not knowing what all to focus and expand on.
The film is entertaining, and still contains the novelty value of a strong female protagonist who stands her own ground, but it lacks cohesion. Since this is just a build up to the next two films, here's hoping all the unanswered questions get answered in the next two.
The first 'The Hunger Games' film was a massive success. I was not taken in by the hype, but eventually watched it (probably under duress) because my sister wanted a second opinion for her magazine review. I was definitely impressed, though I still believe that world has some logistical issues to sort out. But that might be because it's all in the books and didn't have the chance to get ironed out in the film.
'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' came with as much hype and a great deal of expectation. The film premiered in Europe before it did here, and I read endless headlines about Jennifer Lawrence and her character Katniss Everdeen.What I enjoyed most about the first film was its subversion of popular tropes. Katniss was a strong female character, who won the games because of her physical and mental prowess. She was an everywoman who had succeeded due to self-taught survival skills. She was an identifiable character, who didn't pine for love at every given moment.
'Catching Fire' takes place around a year after the previous film. The two District 12 winners, Katniss and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) will be touring the many districts as part of the promotional event for the games. This causes some problems, apparently, as President Snow (Donald Sutherland) lands up at Katniss' house and threatens her and her family. Why? Because, he's concerned that audiences do not believe her and Peeta's love story. Voila! That is why everyone must die, apparently.
Anyway, they go on tour, and there appears to be a hint of discontent in many districts. There is discontent at home too - Gale (Liam Hemsworth) was Katniss' love interest in the first film, but it appears the two of them are finding it difficult to continue their relationship. It's evident Katniss is suffering from PTSD. She is also almost hostile to poor Peeta, who continues to look like a wounded puppy.
Concerned about the impending rioting, squads are sent to districts to maintain discipline. This is a particularly harrowing scene, as these squads barge in like the Nazis and start attacking people and places at random.
In the meantime, Snow is adamant he wants to kill Katniss' image (of hope), and he starts working with new games-maker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to find a way to get rid of her.
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| Panem's symbol of hope - Katniss Everdeen. |
We again have a long sequence of prepping and introducing the other Tributes. This time around Katniss actually befriends some of them, as does Peeta. Of these Tributes, there is the former youngest winner of the games, Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin), his partner Mags (Lynn Cohen), tech genius Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and the fiery Johanna Mason (Jena Malone). These are the only characters of real note, the others have seriously insignificant roles.
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| The other Tributes - Finnick, Mags, Beetee and Johanna. |
It's not long before Tributes start dying. The main gang also have their losses. Eventually they meet Johanna and Beetee. Beetee hatches a plan to hopefully short-circuit the arena's dome. Unfortunately, this plan goes sideways when the other Tributes attack. The film ends with the surety that nothing will be the same anymore.
The first film followed a very straight-forward path - survive or die. This film has a lot more going on, or at least implies the same. My analysis may contain spoilers, so beware.
1. Love triangle - So much for being an antithesis to 'Twilight'. I can tell you that putting the romance between Peeta and Katniss front and center right in the beginning of the film bothered me. It was very underplayed in the first film. In fact, I spent a great deal of it wondering if Peeta too wasn't just playing to the gallery as well as Katniss, and that was really refreshing. But here, Gale seems hungry to put a seal on this relationship, while Katniss seems at first too distracted to care, then utterly undecided and confused. Throw in the fact that Finnick tries to come on to her real strong, and you've got one very baffled viewer.
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| Three's a crowd - Peeta, Katniss and Gale. |
2. The audience - The hideous notion of people watching a live death-match didn't come across in this film, because we never saw the audience. This time around, we viewed the games almost exclusively from the point of view of the Tributes, and occasionally from the point of view of Snow and Heavensbee. The whole point that this is the basest form of entertainment was lost. Granted, we understand at the end of the film that there have been uprisings and District 12 has been razed to the ground, so the fact is, there was probably no one watching the games anyway, but it felt a lot like it lost that touch from the first film.
3. Pace - Yes, the first film had a relatively slow build up. Yes, the games took up around a quarter, maybe less of the screen time, but it still built up the world, and introduced us to the huge cast of characters. This film felt like it put a great deal of emphasis on all the wrong moments.
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| Effie prepping Katniss and Peeta while on tour. |
I also fail to see the point of the overlong introduction of the many Tributes - it makes no sense, because they have absolutely nothing to do. Aquaman is big and scary, but gets flayed by a single arrow from Katniss. We don't even catch the faces of most of the others. A lot of the Tributes we get to see only once they're dead. Introducing them just adds to the length of the film, but adds no substance. I would rather have gotten to know Beetee, Johanna, Finnick and Mags better.
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| Aquaman as Gloss - blink and you'll miss him. |
The film ends very abruptly, as Katniss gives the audience the enraged look. It's a very Western movie concept, which works because there is a Western genre feel to the film.
4. Katniss - Jennifer Lawrence plays this character very straight-laced, with little to no emotion on display. I like that she's a tall, big-boned girl who looks like she could fend off an army. It really adds to the depth of the character, because the audience would never be able to believe her survival skills if she were skinny. Recently Lawrence mentioned that her aim was to be fit and strong, and many have written that she is setting a whole new set of ideals for women's looks. I think that is really important, considering she is young and very popular. She may have a positive impact on youngsters.
My trouble is that the media are always trying to shove it down our throats that she is extremely beautiful, when in fact I fail to understand why that is important at all. She can be a talented actress whose characters have love interests and partners without being drop dead gorgeous. Why does that matter? I say this because so many film promotions mention how beautiful the lady is, and sometimes these ladies actually are, but they don't mention the guy, because he's not good looking at all. Why can't the opposite take place? Why can't it be that the okay-looking lady is leading the film, and happens to have a partner on screen who is attractive? It can happen. And we can still like the female actor, and find her attractive, not conventionally, but because there's more to her than just her looks, and that's what makes her attractive. Maybe the media are already trying to do that, but it doesn't come across as such. Lawrence plays the character well enough, without setting the screen on fire, but I wouldn't necessarily be commenting on her looks.
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| Still strong and very capable - Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen is a role model. |
5. The games - This isn't a complaint about the games as much as it is about the run-up to them. I've already mentioned the inordinate time wasted on unnecessary introductions. But that's not my only problem. There's this overlong scene where the Tributes are on TV and talking to the host, Stanley Tucci. Katniss is rolling her eyes at one of the Tributes crying, and then Haymitch says something like this is their way of trying to stop the games, and suddenly the Tributes we see all insinuate that they don't want to be here and that the games shouldn't go ahead. I'm pretty sure this was properly fleshed out in the book, but in the film it was a sudden jolt. We know that Katniss and Peeta aren't happy to be here, but even they come across as resigned to their fates. The other Tributes, in the training room, seem more than happy to be there. So the TV show seems a little contrived. Almost like they needed to make sure Tucci actually had something to do. It's again the issue with the pacing.
6. Gale - In the first film Gale had nothing to do, but he would occasionally appear on-screen, if only for him to witness Katniss' actions. But, in this film, once they leave for the games, we do not see him at all. Not until the end. I suppose I feel that Hemsworth's role is inadequate because I am unused to seeing a male character being inactive on screen. They're always in action, doing something. So, to see one just going about his daily routine, going through the motions of regular life is extremely alien for on-screen viewing. That's my assumption anyway. I'm told Gale will play a much more significant role in the storyline to come, so perhaps finally this role will be worth it for him.
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| Liam Hemsworth's Gale - so far so two-dimensional. He should have more to do in the coming installments. |
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| Gale gets captured and tortured. Heroism isn't all that it's cracked up to be. |
Johanna is fiery and feisty, she speaks her mind and knows her way around a blade. Not sure why she needed to take her kit off in an elevator with three other people in it, but that scene got cut where I live so I didn't have to see that. She was an effective character, who thankfully didn't have a romantic story attached to her. I'm not the biggest fan of Jena Malone because I feel she's a bit too distinctive a personality to truly embody another character, but she ably pulls off this character. She has the physicality to convince us she's done this before, which helps.
I'll confess that I was super excited when Jeffrey Wright popped up on screen. I didn't know he was in the film. His Beetee is comfortably quirky, while being eminently likable. He brought that much-required maturity to the scenes with the Tributes, and I enjoyed it whenever he was on screen.
As I mentioned, Peeta continues to be a damsel in distress. Hutcherson is quite small, hence he can easily pull off this character's gentle and inherent weakness. Peeta's not a coward, but he's not really had the proper training to survive the games. I didn't really notice his acting, he did the job, that's all he needed to do. He is very easy on the eyes, of course, which makes him a pleasure to watch. Unfortunately he looks twelve years old. Sigh.
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| You see that expression on Peeta's face? Pretty much stays the same throughout the film. |
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| Sam Claflin is Finnick Odair. |
Finnick turns out to be an all-out good guy. He saves Peeta almost immediately after the games begin. Now, I'm going to point out something rather odd, but when was the last time you saw one male actor giving CPR to another male actor? Last time I saw that was in 'Torchwood'. Iron Man even makes a joke about it in 'The Avengers'. It just doesn't happen. However, I did notice that the camera kept tilting up whenever Finnick was breathing life into Peeta. How come? Why is it so uncomfortable for Finnick to resuscitate Peeta? I know this whole log has been a debate on sexism in cinema, but that's one of the novelties of this series, it subverts the usual tropes and brings into stark contrast that which already exists.
One last point about Finnick, and this concerns his relationship with Mags. Finnick won the games when he was fourteen. He's the youngest to have won. And he did it with the help of Mags. Mags, in fact, volunteers for these games in place of Annie, and in the end she dies to save Finnick and the others. My sister and I ended up liking Mags a lot. She couldn't speak, but she was very helpful, and her chemistry with Finnick was very strong. He carried her everywhere, which must have been difficult for the characters. The two of them seemed to know each other really well, and you could see they worked well as a team.
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| Mags and Finnick - The best additions to this film. Great characters with fabulous chemistry. |
Organised list of complaints aside, the film is entertaining, but tries to put in too much without explaining enough. This is a prologue to the last book, and feels like that. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, and a great deal of inferences to be made from outside sources. I don't know how good an adaptation this is, but for someone who's not read the books, I had to troll through a lot of IMDb forums to understand the characters and their motivations.
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| All together now! |
The film is entertaining, and still contains the novelty value of a strong female protagonist who stands her own ground, but it lacks cohesion. Since this is just a build up to the next two films, here's hoping all the unanswered questions get answered in the next two.
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