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Hunger Games, a retrospective
In light of the fifth Hunger Games film being released on digital streaming this January I decided to go back and watch all four films to get a sense of how they have stood the test of time. I saw the first three at the cinema the week of their release, and at the time felt that the quality dropped from the first to the fourth, especially as the Mocking Jay: Part 2 (MJ:P2) felt like it dragged out the ending to the quadrilogy when I saw it on the big screen. Having watched A Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes (BoSS) before diving back into the first four, it was interesting seen how anodyne the new film felt even before I watch those original films, and my honest opinion is that the first four back-to-back actually do make for a cohesive set of films, providing that you do not see Mocking Jay as a hunger games film. So, are the Hunger Games still worth watching a decade on, or was I just remembering the films through rose tinted glasses?
The Hunger Games (THG) as a stand alone film is the best of the series, hands down. The cinematography is unique, treating Katniss as a reality TV deer in the headlights, a complete rube in an era of slick visuals and even slicker deaths. It is only right at the end of the film that the viewer gets to sit back and relax, as the tension throughout the film is real and present. The reaping scenes at the beginning has a rhythm to them that every subsequent film…
