The Hunger Games: Critic Reviews

It is better than any of the Twilight movies, which isn't saying much, but it isn't bad. It is just barely O.K. and it badly needed more Steadicams.

It has the slightly grubby, cobbled-together look of a futuristic flick from the '70s, but that is part of its charm.

The battle that informs this adaptation is between the filmmakers' intent to create a moneymaking franchise... and the efforts of star Jennifer Lawrence to create a compelling movie.

Jennifer Lawrence brings to the pulpy material a sense of weight and gravity that few young actresses could muster; she has a flinty strength that enhances, rather than belies, her soft features, and it makes Katniss a completely believable protagonist.

The movie on its own terms is an entirely likable thriller, if a bit light on intelligence and personality.

Jennifer Lawrence's shining talent makes it all come together.

This tension-filled action-adventure delivers a pulse-pounding, pop culture message of female empowerment.

Comparisons have been made to Battle Royale - and they're not entirely undeserved - but this is a different film, and never feels like a watered down version of anything else.

The film is aided immeasurably by Judianna Makovsky's costume design. Clothes are an intentional method of deciphering The Hunger Games' politics.

As if it were a survival reality TV show with a real pulse.

Finally we have a female lead character who is strong without being brutal, appealing without being objectified, and confident without being female-chauvinistic.

The Hunger Games is much more than a game. It is a memorable human experience. Thank the gods for the wonder of literature and the vision of movies. Some of us still hunger for eloquence on the screen.

While the ending is a bit of a mess, the rest isn't terrible (and nobody sparkles in the sunlight).

Pulls its punches, content to be a glossy entertainment.

Does it really matter that this is not an entirely new idea? Nope.

Gary Ross' first foray into action filmmaking is occasionally hampered by wobbly camera-work, but is successful in the way it communicates the horror of violence without threatening the teen-friendly rating.

Lawrence lends Katniss the kind of gravitas that, initially at least, makes the film's bleak vision of the future seem credible.

For those who have not read the book, this film is a movie without a cause.

The Hunger Games features names that are like color palette rejects at the Dior counter.

It's far too long and much inferior to the ferocious Japanese Battle Royale.

Any gripes that I have with it stem from the fact that it couldn't be four hours long and that it can't be in first person like the books.

The cinematic visualisation of the upper class of Pinem - is painted with a surrealist brush that Salvador Dali might have dropped (but).. falls short of expectations, registering a low emotional score despite all that is at stake

The positives to The Hunger Games are largely thanks to Lawrence in the lead.

Gary Ross clearly does not have enough faith in the material or the world he created to simply let the audience enjoy the ride. The constant shaky cam, out of focus zooms and other unnecessary camera gimmicks literally made me sick.

There's not a shred of cynicism anywhere in it.