Twelve districts of a future America, who years ago revolted against the Capitol, are annually forced to submit teen participants in gladiator-like games, till the last man/woman stands. Story has numerable sociopolitical correlates to our own world, where reality-TV-hungry audiences cherish watching the most despicable acts on TV, as long as it's live. But then again, we as viewers are good examples, as the latter half showing the deadly games is the more entertaining. The novel is narrated in first person, and the filmmakers wisely shoot the majority in close-up to translate that to film. Can't wait for the sequels.
PS: I'm delighted that this young adult franchise will be replacing Harry Potter.
Update (3/29/2012): I found myself thinking about the movie for several days. That means my first movie of 2012 deserves an upgrade to a MoMagic status.
Mo says:
MoMagic!
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would although it was similar to the fantastic Battle Royale. It was different enough to still be interesting and I will be watching the inevitable sequel(s).
ReplyDeleteEverybody talks about the movie's violence, but considering the story's dark subject matter, I thought they had tamed down the violence just to get a PG-13 rating. I believe this worked to movie's benefit, since the editing out of actual violent scenes and "implying" violence made it a much smarter movie. The best example was the moment the games begin , where everybody runs to grab weapons. The implied violence was horrendous, without showing much at all. That was probably the most beautifully done scene.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, "Battle Royale" is on "Very Long Wait" status on my Netflix queue. Apparently there are more wise movie buffs out there than I thought. Waiting impatiently ...
The violence is far from implied in Battle Royale but it is beautifully choreographed as only the Japanese can. It has an 18 rating over here which I'm sure is ignored by anyone who wants to see it.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed it's available On-Demand on Amazon.com. Hope to wacth it soon.
ReplyDeleteThe lighthouse massacre is the best bit ;D
ReplyDelete