Okay. My morning just received a high-octane shot of 100% thrill. Lionsgate released the trailer of The Hunger Games today, and it is worth the wait. Granted, I was surprised that the 2.39 minute video only highlights the story up to the start of the Games. So a lot of attention is placed on the Reaping, Katniss & family, Katniss & Gale, and her journey to the Capitol. There are flashes of several characters – Haymitch! Seneca Crane! Cinna! Rue! The excellent Donald Sutherland is creepily perfect as President Snow. We get a glimpse of Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman. And Elizabeth Banks’ Effie Trinket goes above and beyond my expectations. Her white pancake makeup, gaudy metallic lipsick, platinum blonde wig, and hot pink Neo-Victorian get-up is simply brilliant. For a novel that so many readers have fallen in love with, Lionsgate has the insurmountable challenge to bring that story – which differs in each person’s imagination – into visual and auditory existence. It will not meet every reader’s expectations, but, so far, The Hunger Games is doing a surprisingly good job at transforming script to screen.
They’ve made an effort to make Jennifer Lawrence (as Katniss) more ‘plain’, so her transformation at the Opening Ceremony is all the more delectable. Despite her fiery red dress and make-up, it is Lawrence’s unsure, awkward face that exactly captures Katniss’s character. Josh Hutcherson still is not the Peeta I envisioned, but I’m liking what I see in this trailer. More so than Liam Hemsworth’s Gale.
The trailer ends as Katniss is shot up into the arena, as all the Tributes stand on their respective discs around the cornucopia. The ominous countdown descends from ’10′, and we’re given several more shots of Panem’s citizens, all riveted to various screens, watching the beginning of the Games. Already I’m excited to see how the film’s creators have presented the significant power and influence of technology and surveillance in the film.
I am a huge (make that obsessed) fan of The Hunger Games, so I might be a bit biased. This trailer, however, has the potential to grab the attention of the non-fan as well. Even after the fourth viewing of the preview, I’m still like a five-year old on Christmas morning. Giddy with excitement, delighted with the artistic choices, and eagerly anticipating the release of March 23. I simply cannot wait.
What do you think of the first Hunger Games trailer? Write your thoughts below!
November 14, 2011 at 3:20 pm
I agree with everything you’ve said! I’m so excited and I loved the emphasis on the start of the games and the reaping. This is what the story is about — the characters, not just the games.
Already I’ve got chills and I can’t wait for March 23rd to come around.