You’ve read the books, you’ve scoured the internet for trailers and spoiler alerts, you’ve agonized or rejoiced over the choice of casting and finally the day has arrived. THE HUNGER GAMES, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Elizabeth Banks, hits theatres today.
There has been lots of hype surrounding the release of this movie. Some are even comparing it to the TWILIGHT franchise (we’re not too sure how we feel about that.) All three books have been extremely successful and the franchise has earned itself a huge fan base.
For those of you that don’t know, THE HUNGER GAMES tells the story of a girl, Katniss Everdeen, who’s thrown into a competition where she must fight 23 other kids and get out alive. One of the kids that she has to kill is a boy from her District who may or may not be in love with her. In the country of Panem, which was once America, the Hunger Games take place each year as a reminder to the citizens that the Capitol (the ruling city) is in charge and all-powerful. Two tributes (children between the ages of 12-18 who never get enough to eat because all the Districts are stingy with food and with no previous training in combat or survival skills or anything) are chosen from each of the 12 Districts to go into an arena that can take any shape and fight each other until only one of them is still alive.
The movie is stunning. Fans will be pleased to hear that it stays relatively true to the book, which is rare for novel-to-film adaptations. With a rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, you can’t go wrong (THE MUPPETS got more, but who’s counting.)
Catch THE HUNGER GAMES in theatres and be prepared to be blow away!
Fast Facts about THE HUNGER GAMES
– Thirty different actresses were considered for the role of Katniss
– Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) were both born in Kentucky
– Liam Hemsworth (Gale) had to learn how to throw knives for his role, but he already had some experience because he once chucked a knife at his brother’s head
– The movie was filmed in North Carolina.
– Jennifer Lawrence had to learn how to shoot with a bow and arrow because Katniss is an accomplished archer.