Suzanne
Collins' says that her very successful young adults book trilogy, "The
War Games" was based on reality shows and Iraq war footage on news
reports on television. Watching the movie faced on the first book "The
Hunger Games" looks like it is also based on news headlines about
teenagers killing teenagers as that is what is behind the 'games'.

Due
to war, famine and greed the United States collapsed and now 100 years
later we have 12 impoverished districts ruled by the very privileged The
Capitol in a country called Panem. Each year two teenagers--1 female, 1
male--are chosen from each district to be televised killing each other
with the one living survivor (How about a TV show with that name? Oh,
there is one already!) winning riches for life. All this will bring in
the male readers/film goers but how do we attract the females? Oh,
right, add a love triangle and so we have Katmiss (Jennifer Lawrence)
and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), both selected from district 12 to be in the
games, and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) the boy back home.

The
Capitol looks like the world of Oz and is inhabited by people who dress
as tall munchkins, each weirder than the next and the decadence look is
all over the place. It doesn't seem as if people have advanced with too
much technology all those years from now but those in charge are
certainly more outgoing such as the host (Stanley Tucci) of the TV show.
There are no new weapons and deaths are caused by bow and arrow,
javelons, spears, knives, mines and even wasps but not a gun in sight.

With
the film running over 2 hours and 2o minutes the director, Gary Ross
and the writers, Ross, Billy Ray and Suzanne Collins, spend the first
hour laying the ground work and rules while the rest is devoted to the
killings and, consequently, there really isn't time to get to know the
12 fighters and there is no emotion involved on the audiences part when
any of them are killed nor when they survive.

The
second half of the film is action packed and moves very swiftly but the
action is by the numbers and the outcome is almost a given so one will
have to wait for the second film and/or read the books to get to know
the characters better and, maybe, feel for them more.

It
is with her performance that Jennifer Lawrence holds this movie
together and commands every scene she is in. When not running or
shooting arrows her face tells you everything she is feeling. Josh
Hutcherson is too bland as Peeta while Liam Hemsworth as the rival
doesn't have that much screen time in this chapter.

The
supporting cast is a mixed bag ranging from Elizabeth Banks looking and
acting like a drag queen while Woody Harrelson as a previous winner and
now mentor doesn't chew the scenery too much. Stanley Tucci is way over
the top, ridiculously so, while it is always good seeing Wes Bently and
Toby Jones. Sutherland holds back from being as menacing as the role
might call for while Willow Shields as the younger sister and Paula
Malcomson as the mother of the heroine deliver short but solid
performances. Lenny Kravitz as a stylist is a standout.

"The
Hunger Games" is on its way to setting records and certainly will be one
of, if not the, highest grossing pictures of the year but the question
is whether it will draw an audience of people who don't know the books
to the second movie and if it does Jennifer Lawrence will be responsible
for that.