Hunger Games poster

We always encourage our readers to submit stories, reviews, thoughts, show ideas, and more to us to help keep our site fresh, interactive and as connected to the reader as possible. Today we share with you a review from reader Ryan M from Boise, Idaho who saw the film last night with his wife and wanted to share his thoughts on it (MAJOR SPOILERS). You can click READ MORE to check out his thoughts on the film, and if YOU have something you’d like to submit to us here for others to read at Beyond the Marquee, drop us a line at posts@beyondthemarquee.com

Hi Beyond the Marquee, my name is Ryan M******* from Boise, Idaho and 1st off, love your site, so glad I stumbled upon it. I saw the Hunger Games movie last night and wanted to write about it because this movie had me swelling with all sorts of emotions and thoughts (as a good movie should) upon leaving it. So my wife Amy and I went to our local cinemaplex the Edwards Boise Stadium 22 to check out the Hunger Games. Now neither Amy nor I had read the books, we barely got thru Harry Potter and Amy’s only gotten thru a few chapters of Twilight, we’re not huge readers (we have 3 kids). We didn’t know much of the film other than trailers we saw at prior films toting this as a game about kids being hunted by each other for some sort of sporting event. The lights dimmed and we hoped our 2 1/2 hours we were paying the babysitter was going to be worth it.

Well, it was, it was a quite enjoyable movie (and it would be a really short review if I just ended it here, but I wanted to dive in and explain what we loved and didn’t about this film), we both turned to each other as it ended and said “that was good”. I know for me I was riveted to the edge of my seat, mostly swelling with an anticipation and anxiety I’ve not felt since I was a teen and walked out of Empire Strikes Back, Goonies or Raiders did I feel so jazzed about a movie. Part of it was definitely an overwhelming feeling of anxiety which made that 2hours and 20 mins running time feel like 40. I wish Lord of the Rings did that for me. But back to the anxiety, it was certainly a mixed bag of wondering how and when these kids were going to be picked off, and then rooting for ones you hoped didn’t die, but knew probably would. The anxiety over all this almost mucked up my enjoying the film because I was so immersed in all of it, I felt like a spectator in one of the Districts.

Amy had issues with the fact that kids were being picked off, we’ve seen plenty of Gladiator type movies and films where people are hunted for sport or some sort of game, but this seems like we’ve stooped to a new low with children (though my wife never saw the film Battle Royale). Some characters we barely got to know were slaughtered in the 1st minute of the start of the games, which I guess is the nature of the game, but still I guess they expanded more on them in the books we’ll never read.

We also both walked out of the film wondering is Rue was working with the other kid who ultimately speared her? It seemed like there was a great dynamic building between Rue and Katniss, the older sister looking out for her younger sibling (Prim) who would have been lost on her own if thrown into this game as planned. But then when we didn’t hear Rue’s “mocking jay” tune back, Amy and I looked at each other wondering, oh, is Rue collaborating with the others too? Was she in that net on her own to lure Katniss out for spear-chucker to try and kill her off? Did the plan backfire and the spear-chucker kill Rue and then plan on offing Everdeen? We still wondered as we scarfed down appetizers after the film at TGI Fridays.

I thought the visuals of the film were amazing, I’m not sure what year this was supposed to be in, but I figured 2100 something maybe? The costumes felt like those outlandish colorful designs I recall from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, with a sprinkle of the Fifth Element thrown in for good measure. I am still not sure I understood how the fire on the costumes worked, was it real or virtual? I don’t think I ever really understood that efect. The “capitol” was palacial with some fun firnishings by a future IKEA, very clean and symetrical. To be those kids coming from lower districts walking into those environments must have been overwhelming in their minds. We thought the performances by Stanley Tucchi, Woody Harrelson and Donald Sutherland were also great, I didn’t even know they were in this movie, so that was a real treat. We didn’t know any of the teen/kid actors, though someone in the theater we over-heard said Miley Cyrus was dating one of them, but they all did a great job and seemed believable. 

Amy brought up a good point which was, very little was explained about the designers or the actual holographic (was it holographic?) playing field. They emerged form their tubes to this forest, the weapons were solid, the injuries they seemed to inflict upon each other or themselves clearly seemed real and deadly, yet the computer controllers were able to generate trees, fireballs and digital devil dogs out of thin air. Huh!?!? The Tracker Jacket Wasps were said to be genetically engineered, they drank the water and ate some sort of wildlife over a fire…but how do these physical elements live in a simulated environment that is digitally manipulated? And why did the game-makers have the ability to try and kill off the kids with fire and vicious beasts? This was a survival game of kids hunting each other, not wilderness survival by the hands of demented Big Brothers watching, or was it? It was time’s like this we wondered how much we missed out from NOT reading the books?

I had wished that Gale’s desire of people just not watching would have come true, and I thought that was happening when the guy from District 11 walked away and then the riots began. It would have been great to see the movie end, Katniss and Pita awarded and then no one in any of the Disticts there in front of the screens, just rioting and empty areas in front of the screens.

The movie seemed to end on a vibe where if they didn’t want to make another it was a decent end, of course with a wonder of what would happen with Pita and Katniss now back home in District 12, would she end up with that guy Gale who she didnt neccessarily seem to have a thing for, though we sort of saw him reacting to the relationship forming with Pita and Kat. And is that real or did Katniss just play it up to help win the game and garner sponsors? 

Overall, a great film, we had fun and now wondering what lies in store for the characters if the films do continue. Not knowing anything about the other books, so not sure if there are other characters in a new story-line or what, we’ll see. All I do know is I just bought a “mocking jay” pin on ebay for $25 because I thought it was a pretty cool little prop and will give that to my wife, I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of it. If you post this, just please leave my last name off. Thanks again and nice site, will keep checking back for more.

-Ryan M (Boise, Idaho)

mocking jay pin