The Hunger Games: A unique remake, or a Battle Royale with Cheese?

With the overall sagging decline of theatre sales (with the exception of major blockbusters), Hollywood is literary chomping at the bit, for a new unique teen/tween novel based movie series to start up. Harry Potter is done, and the (ugh) Twilight series is about to finish. 

Hollywood needs a new series to appeal to the teen/tween demographic in order to keep that gravy train flowing. And what better way to do that than with…wait for it…another new teen fantasy novel series to be made into a film franchise. Surprise, surprise…

Well, after a rather lengthy dry spell from hitting the theatres, I finally got around to seeing another film in the traditional place to see a film. No, not at home on a digital (or blu-ray) copy on big screen HD television with an overly expensive surround sound. I mean in a good old fashioned theatre, because I still feel that even with the changing technology of today, there are still a few older traditions that should be reserved for the old ways…(like multi-plexies are that old!)

Moving on, got around seeing the now famous and highly anticipated “Hunger Games” movie. A movie I might add that has been given a lot of praise, and equally a lot of criticism for similar and different reasons.

I’ll explain, in my opinion the praise I think comes from mostly the marketing for the film, which I might add was done well. Both on TV the internet and with the various trailers, they clearly did a very good job on getting the word out on this film.

In fact I think Hollywood needs to, especially now more than ever. Think about it a sec…With the overall sagging decline of theatre sales (with the exception of major blockbusters), Hollywood is literary chomping at the bit, for a new unique teen/tween novel based movie series to start up. Harry Potter is done, and the (ugh) Twilight series is about to finish. Hollywood needs a new series to appeal to the teen/tween demographic in order to keep that gravy train flowing. And what better way to do that than with…wait for it…another new teen fantasy novel series to be made into a film franchise. Surprise, surprise…

Yes, many of you probably don’t agree with all of that, and are probably stating, “Hey! It’s more than just clever marketing; it’s actually a good film, based on a good book!” Now-now, calm down people. I never said it was a bad film, so don’t get it twisted. In fact I did enjoy a lot of aspects of it. How sometimes sacrificing yourself for the greater good is the better path, much like how the main character Katniss Everdeen, does with volunteering as the chosen one (the tribute) in place of her younger sister.

I also like the survival instincts shown by this character in the game itself. It does show a lot on what choices some people are forced to make when put in a situation when its literally kill or be killed, while at the same time shows that sometimes some level of compassion and empathy can also go a long way. And lets not forget the message of choosing your own destiny and not leaving that choice up for others to choose for you.

That comes to the other criticism of the film. Yes you guess it, it's unusual similarity to the 1999 novel by Koushun Takami, turned to the 2001 classic film, “Battle Royale”. This has been mentioned a fair amount of times about the novel, and now even more with the release of Hunger Games film. Though the author Suzanne Collins, denies stating,

"I had never heard of that book or that author until my book was turned in. At that point, it was mentioned to me, and I asked my editor if I should read it. He said: 'No, I don't want that world in your head. Just continue with what you're doing.'” 

Some like Susan Dominus have suggested that "the parallels are striking enough that Collins's work has been savaged on the blogosphere as a baldfaced ripoff," but argued that "there are enough possible sources for the plot line that the two authors might well have hit on the same basic setup independently."

In my opinion, I have some doubts on that…granted that there are some differences in certain key elements of each film (I haven’t had the chance to read either novel these films are based on. yet), there are equally and undeniable similarities of plot that are a little too hard not to overlook. Especially when it comes to the implication of societal collapse, theme in both films, to the age range of the game participants, to the unwillingness of many to play properly resulting to fatal outcomes to the game setup itself, with various traps tracking devices, and weapons a plenty.

The only difference is, unlike The Hunger Games, Battle Royale doesn’t quasi-censor the actual killing. Whether that is good, or bad, depends of the individual watching both films. Some say its good, since it limits the blood and gore that might not be necessary for this associated demographic. But other argue, that they shouldn’t censor anything, due mainly to the fact that the novel series doesn’t censor anything so why should the film? Oh and fyi, the novel series this film is based on is considered for young adults, despite the violence it presents. So if that’s the case, what’s up with that?

Anyways to anyone that has seen both films or read both novels, what do you think of all of this? Oh and those that haven’t read the novels but just saw the films, I would still like some feedback on this one.