“It had to fell very very real. It had to feel urgent… It had to feel true!”  Gary Ross does an extraordinary directing the screenplay of Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games. He says he tried to put the audience in Katnisse’s (Jennifer Lawrence) shoes. Ross states he doesn’t want to overproduce the movie or it would be just like the Capital. When Ross chooses actors and actresses he wants them to have control over what they are doing.

The scenario in The Hunger Games is: after a rebellion, the capital of Panam forces each of its twelve districts to give a young man and women to fight to the death with the other tributes, until only one remains, the victor. This points to a theme of technology going too far and producing an unjust society. After Prim Rose Everdeen (Willow Shields) is chosen for the reaping, Katniss Everdeen, her sister volunteers for her and is forced to go to the Hunger Games with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Gale (Liam Hemsworth) voices his opinion to Katniss on how they could change the games. “You root for your favorites, you cry when they get killed, It’s sick! If no one watches they don’t have a game it’s as simple as that”. Katniss volunteering brings out another theme. How much people will sacrifice for their families and the ones they love.

This science fiction is rated PG-13 for intense violence, thematic material, and disturbing images all involving teens. The runtime is two hours and twenty-two minutes. This film was nominated fifty-one times and received twenty eight nominations. Opening weekend they grossed around one hundred fifty eight million twenty seven thousand two hundred eighty six dollars.

Haymitch (Woodly Harrelson) seems experienced in acting. When he is annoyed you can tell by his facial expression. Jennifer Lawrence is also very convincing. She gets the part perfectly and fits Katniss from Collin’s novel. Peeta plays his role in being humble, humorous, and not jumpy. All the characters performances were compelling.

The one thing I disagreed with in this film was when Katniss cut down the tracker jacker nest and started having hallucinations. She  sees Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) talking about tracker jackers. Katniss never saw him say that, so this scene doesn’t make any sense. Other than that, I didn’t notice any other problems in the film.
This movie has a balanced amount of music that sets the tone for each scene. The screenplay is true to the book. The more times it is watched the more details are noticed, like who the sponsors are. The ending leaves you in anticipation for the next film. If you are looking for a riveting science fiction... Watch The Hunger Games…