We Did It; Hunger Games

I became a lemming tonight and went to see The Hunger Games.

Part of me really, really wants to resist the craze, the other part has been listening to friends talk about how the book caught their attention and that you absolutely MUST NOT LEAVE the movie for ANY REASON whatsoever because YOU WILL MISS SOMETHING.

(I wrote that in capital letters because that is how passionate people have been on this issue. I think it’s also important to point out I had to google the correct spelling of “capital letter.” I’m glad I did. My first attempt was “capitol” and that is incorrect. That’s your spelling lesson for the day. Don’t thank me, just go win a bee or something.)

We tried to see this movie last Friday but committed the cardinal sin of not arriving at the theater early enough. When we got to the ticket window there were only 17 seats left and, given Lizard’s wish to not to have a stiff neck from sitting in the front row and my desire to avoid crowded theaters where someone could yell, “Fire!” as well as the aromas associated with many people gathered in a small space a short time after eating their evening meal… we decided to pass.

Tonight, our second attempt was successful. I even followed the advice and went to the bathroom close to either three or 67 times before the previews started so I would make it through the entire movie without a potty break.

(Speaking of the previews – does anyone else think it’s strange there is a new Spiderman movie coming out? Isn’t it a little too soon after the last Spiderman franchise where Kirsten Dunst had a disturbing hair color? And why are there two scary versions of Snow White coming out? Aren’t seven small, adjectively-named dwarves in animation disturbing enough?!)

The Hunger Games is genuinely good! I didn’t spend the last 20 minutes of the film wishing for an intermission to relieve my bladder, instead I was entranced. I didn’t worry about my feet falling asleep from crossing my legs, I just tried to sit still and not distract myself so I could follow the storyline. I even held Lizard’s hand through the intense parts, which, for me, was equal to 2 hours and 19 minutes of the 2 hour, 22 minute movie.

The tale was fast-paced, acting believable, the politics were intriguing, and the characters relatable… Do you read the surprise in my words? I’m shocked we liked it, as we’ve had a string of stinker movies before tonight; the last movie we watched on a date night was This Is War, a definite waste of $14 and an hour and a half of our lives.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I give it a thumbs up and say, “go for it!” despite the premise of 24 children aged 12-18 trying to kill each other.

That’s always an uplifting storyline.

Have you seen The Hunger Games? What was your opinion? How did the movie compare to the book(s)?