Film Review | The Hunger Games

Lenny Kravitz is in this film. Though you probably won't notice him without the trademark shades.

And not only are his elusive eyeballs exposed as he takes on the role of futuristic stylist Cinna in the first instalment of a film franchise that is set to be next big thing since Harry Potter... his gold-tipped eyelids bring to mind a rock star from a previous generation (i.e., David Bowie circa Ziggy Stardust).

But though musicians-turned-actors don't often augur well for the films they star in (I shudder at the very thought of the upcoming, Rihanna-starring Battleship), it's refreshing to see that in fact, when it comes to The Hunger Games, Kravitz is just one part of a very ornate - and often quite rich - puzzle.

Based on the first novel in the highly successful trilogy by Suzanne Collins - who also co-wrote the screenplay for this Gary Ross-directed adaptation - The Hunger Games plunges us in a distant future, where America as we know it no longer exists.

Instead, it is replaced by a rigidly segregated land called Panem, where The Capitol rules over 12 separate districts - grouped in descending order of economic stature. In retribution for an uprising which occurred at some point in history, The Capitol imposes 'The Hunger Games' on the districts each year.

Presented as a media frenzy - with all the reality television trimmings of studio interviews and televised training sessions - the games are actually a brutal endurance test, and its sole winner is only declared after the other participants have been killed.

After her young sister gets chosen as the female 'Tribute' from the 12th District, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers for the challenge in her stead, and is paired with the son of a poor baker from the region, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). With no hope of getting ahead in the competition, the duo are (somewhat reluctantly) helped along by their alcoholic mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson).

Katniss's natural skills as a hunter - coupled with her rough-and-tumble underdog image - helps her score some votes among viewers. But it's not long until the masters of the game (Wes Bentley and Donald Sutherland) become uneasy with this situation...

Ross's direction makes one thing abundantly clear: this adaptation is not playing it safe.

District 12, our entry point into Collins's futuristic world, is a place of Soviet grittiness, where people struggle to survive in shanty hamlets and teenagers forage for food in the wild woods. Immediately we realise that Katniss is made of stern stuff, and she nabs our sympathies straight away. Not for her, the hyperventilating histrionics of Twilight's Bella.

Lawrence's performance is an essential ingredient to the character's onscreen success, though.

Not only is the 21-year-old actress already experienced at playing downtrodden heroines from gritty, impoverished backgrounds (see: her Oscar-nominated turn in the 2010 indie drama Winter's Bone). She also makes for a very convincing underdog. Being pretty but not screen-diva-stunning, she's easy to root for... a comfortable fit between the film's reality-show high concept and the way she's bound to come across to real world audiences too.

Much fuss was made over how Collins's novel steals from a number of sources - chief of which is the Japanese manga-turned-film Battle Royale - but the result is still a heady, suspenseful treat. It's a winner primarily because it lets us slip into the fantastical world gradually, first hooking us with a familiar emotional cocktail of teen angst and peer pressure, not to mention its overarching concept, which mercilessly takes our obsession with reality television to its logical - gladiatorial - conclusion.

Ross has since announced his departure from the franchise. This is unfortunate, because his aesthetic perfectly matches the (in)balance of the haves-and-have-nots in the futuristic world. Elizabeth Banks's Hunger Games compère character - decked out in layer upon layer of thick makeup and tartly announcing the Tributes in a shiny pink dress - is a perfect illustration of this clash of cultures.

A sequel has already been announced, and Catching Fire (the second novel in the franchise) is set for a November 2013 release date. Constantine and Water for Elephants director Francis Lawrence has been announced as director.

He has big shoes to fill. This franchise is about as high profile as Hollywood projects go, and Ross has already established a distinct palette for him to work against. At this point though, there's not much we can do except offer Mr Lawrence the traditional Hunger Games salute: 'May the odds be ever in your favour...'