OK, I feel bad about this… But I have to say that even though I love the idea of an empowered heroine, I actually found the experience of sitting through The Hunger Games very tedious. This mash-up of reality shows hits you full-in-the-face with no attempt at a coherent backstory and minimal character development.
Now remember, I’m someone who prides herself on ALWAYS seeing the film first. As a film critic, I believe it is my obligation to approach each film as the blankest possible slate, & in the case of an adaptation, I never read the source material before I attend the screening.
So I’m willing to believe that these essential elements are there in the books, so that you come in knowing all the essentials (backstory & character development) if you’ve read the books…
But if you haven’t, then you’re out of luck. Don’t look for them in the film because they will not be there 🙁
