The biggest challenges facing JJ Abrams with Ep9 are the same as he’s faced for the entire Sequel Trilogy, to whit: (1) satisfying fans of the Original Trilogy, and (2) creating the next generation of fans with the new cast/direction. By ‘fan’ I don’t mean someone who just goes and watches each movie dutifully once (like say a typical ‘fan’ of the Mission Impossible franchise might), but someone who watches all the movies multiple times, gets their friends and kids and parents to watch it, and buys into all the merchandise for years or even decades: toys, Halloween costumes, books, comics, TV spin-offs, games, theme park tickets, etc. Ideally Disney/Kennedy/Abrams would want to fulfill both (1) AND (2), but if it comes down to it, they could give up some of (1) if they get more of (2) in return. The worse case scenario would be if they whiffed on both …
Tag Archives: Hunger Games
Divergent (2014, dir. Neil Burger): Derivative!
More aptly named “DERIVATIVE”, this YA coming-of-age fantasy faintly echoes what comes before – it makes THE HUNGER GAMES (2012) look almost literary by comparison, via an appealing female lead (though Shailene Woodley is no Jennifer Lawrence), a dystopian society (though not as in-depth or satirical) with a conniving but one-dimensional villain (on this, Kate Winslet ties with Donald Sutherland), and a chaste teen romance a la TWILIGHT (2008). The training sequences are a pale imitation of STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997), PACIFIC RIM (2013) or even the the flawed ENDER’S GAME (2013). I even half-expected the film to crack open the tried-and-tested “your world is a nested subroutine” trick from GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995), THE MATRIX (1999) or INCEPTION (2010) – though thankfully, we didn’t have to see a ‘hacked’ version of that … Overall, mildly diverting if you like this sort of thing.
As an aside, I have heard said that the movie is better than the books, in which case I’d like to (1) congratulate the 20-something Ms Roth on being able to rake in so much $$$ with so little effort, and (2) officially warn anyone against reading them ..
Ender’s Game (2013, dir. Gavin Hood): solid yet flawed adaptation of the beloved sci-fi coming-of-age novel
Solid sci-fi action with deeper-than-typical thematic exploration of the protagonist’s psychology and whether the ends justify the means. Given controversial author Orson Scott Card wrote the book decades before the current crop of young adult coming-of-age-while-saving-the-world fantasy (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, etc.), it’s interesting to observe the debt the later writers owe on plot, characterization, etc. Asa Butterfield redeems his Hugo (2011) turn in the titular role (streets better than Jake ‘annoying Anakin’ Lloyd who was under consideration for the part), while Harrison Ford shows us what Han Solo might have become if the civil war never ended, and Ben Kingsley epic fails at a New Zealand accent.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013, dir. Francis Lawrence): a quality follow-up for fans of the first film
For fans of the first film, a quality follow-up, but doesn’t quite reach the hallowed circle of sequels that were better than episode 1 (Empire Strikes Back, Wrath of Khan, etc.) Somehow, the stakes felt a bit lower and less dramatic, and the plot is entirely predictable to anyone who’s read a lot of sci fi/ dystopian future lit – though Jennifer Lawrence does a creditable acting job (as ever). Entertaining, well-crafted, slightly-deeper-than-typical action fare, though still not good enough to make me want to read the books 🙂
The Hunger Games (2012, dir. Gary Ross): smart, well-made thriller
Smart, well-made thriller which appeals both to the Twilight/Harry Potter set and adult auds who enjoy intelligent action movies. BO should be sky high. For the unitiated, take the central premise of Battle Royale (1999 Japanese novel of teenagers fighting to the death for sport under a totalitarian regime), set it in near future America, then throw in elements from The Truman Show (1998 Peter Weir flick) and the overall story arc from Gladiator (2000 Ridley Scott film). Though it plays more like The Running Man (1982 Stephen King novel, 1987 Schwarzenegger vehicle) than Lord of the Flies (1954 William Golding novel). Jennifer Lawrence shows how Kristen Stewart how to act, though it’s clear the weak link is Josh Hutcherson (who plays Peeta Mellark), especialy if Peeta has a big role in the sequels.
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