Hunger Games, The

Synopsis
Based on the best-selling young-adult novel by author Suzanne Collins, THE HUNGER GAMES tells the dark tale of a 16-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who is selected to compete in a vicious televised tournament in which 24 teenagers from a post-apocalyptic society fight to the death for the entertainment of the masses. In the future, North America is no more. In its place has risen Panem, a divided nation split into 12 districts. Every year, each district selects a teen of each gender (called "Tributes") to test their worth in a competition known as the Hunger Games, which are broadcast across the nation as entertainment, and to reinforce the government's total power. When her younger sister is selected as District 12's latest "Tribute," Katniss volunteers to take her place, and trains under hard-drinking former Hunger Games champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) to sharpen her killer instincts. Now in order to survive the game and emerge the victor, this young combatant must put all of her skills to the ultimate test. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth co-star.

Reviews
4.5 stars out of 5 -- "As action, as allegory, as cinema, THE HUNGER GAMES is the best American science-fiction film since THE MATRIX..." (Box Office)

"At the center of things most of the time, Lawrence remains compelling all the way. As in WINTER'S BONE, she's onscreen alone, or nearly so, a great deal, and she holds one's attention unselfconsciously..." (Hollywood Reporter)

3 stars out of 4 -- "GAMES shines brightest in its choice for 16-year-old heroine Katniss Everdeen, played with a beautiful steeliness by Jennifer Lawrence....The action is brisk, the acting is solid, and barring an unlikely failure at the box office, a franchise is born." (USA Today)

"An actress who specializes in combining formidable strength of will with convincing vulnerability, Lawrence is the key factor in making HUNGER GAMES an involving popular entertainment with strong narrative drive..." (Los Angeles Times)

3 stars out of 4 -- "THE HUNGER GAMES is an effective entertainment, and Jennifer Lawrence is strong and convincing in the central role. (Wall Street Journal)

"There’s action here...and a great deal of vitality that feels true both to the spirit of Collins’ book and to the idea of movie entertainment..." (Movieline)

"[Ross] does his strongest work in the early scenes, which set up the stakes with chilling efficiency." (A.V. Club)

3 stars out of 4 -- "HUNGER GAMES radiates a hot, jumpy energy that's irresistible. It has epic spectacle, yearning romance, suspense that won't quit an a shining star in Jennifer Lawrence..." (Rolling Stone)

"This HUNGER GAMES is a muscular, honorable, unflinching translation of Collins' vision." -- Grade: A- (Entertainment Weekly)

"[A] triumph of restraint....Lawrence brings an intense conviction to the role..." (Sight and Sound)

4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he grit, gravity and empathy on display fuse into something fresh....THE HUNGER GAMES finds new ways to play." (Total Film)