The Hunger Games (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review - Page 2

Not trying to nitpick, but it's actually the 12th highest grossing all-time (domestic), not 14th. Although Dark Knight Rises will bump it down to #13 shortly. Still an amazing feat.

I hardly ever go to the movie theater anymore--personally I get a better experience in my HT. But I really wanted to see this movie when it came out--I had just finished the first book. I loved the movie and can't wait to see the BD. I have it now--just arrived via FedEx from Amazon. I loved the books, and loved the first movie and anxiously await the next two (well technically 3 more movies). Not just for teenage girls--I just turned 60 this week!

Not a big fan of the shaky camera but there was a point to this--maybe there are other ways to address the violence in the books but the director chose the shaky camera solution to keep the movie PG-13.

Yep! the rental was DD5.1, but to be honest it still sounded fantastic and I would n't have known the better if it wasn't till the end when the wife wanted me to rewind a bit and I noticed the DD5.1, having said that we enjoyed the movie and look forward to the rest of the films!

I should of taken your advice Ralph and rented first.

That's ok Ralph. I was going in with very high expectations and was expected to be blown away due to the buzz that was surrounding this film. But will watch again could change my mind. It happened before

This film was way to long..it lost it's way and was "Just get on with it" boring. I did like the cannon fire in the distance and the PQ was good. Please..no more..although I know my plea will fall on deaf ears.

Got this on redbox br last night. Very NON spectacular movie. PQ and sound was okay. Again. Nothing great. The chariot fake fire effect looked terrible. Wish they would make no more.

Ummm....it was fake fire.....

3 more actually: Catching Fire 11/2013, Mockingjay part 1 11/2014 and Mockingjay part 2 11/2015.

My Samsung BD-C7900 wont play the Hunger Games and after jumping thru a lot of hoops for Samsung Tech Support, I am told that the player wont play this movie until they release a new firmware update and they have no idea when that will be.

What the hell??

Maybe Samsung knows something about the movie's quality. Though, sorry to hear about their lousy technical support.

I also echo the sentiment that this whole shaky-cam and quick-cut nonsense has got to go! Very, very unprofessional and nauseating. What a ho-hum movie. Though, Jennifer Lawrence will be a very rich young lady when it's all over. Unless she goes through it like most Hollywood types...

I just watched the movie today and I whole heartily agree that the shaky-cam and quick-cut gimmick has got to stop. I don't buy the argument that this is a way to depict the gore and still retain the PG13 rating, especially when a lot of the shaky-cam and quick cut scenes were zooming in on hands and faces to try to make the movie more exciting than the sleeper that it is. A lot of PG13 action movies has been made without these gimmicks. I agreed with the video quality rating since the picture was crisp and clear, but the audio was not too special with a few exceptions like the cannon noise and game maker's announcements. In my HT, it really sounded like the sounds came from the sky to match that of the movie.

IMHO, the books had a good story line for a very good action movie, but the books' writing and storytelling was very amateurish compared to the likes of Harry Potter, Lords of the Rings, and any works by Steinbeck, Dumas, Dickens, Twain, and Tom Clancy. Then again, J.K. Rowling had set the bar so high in my mind for the teen genre that I assumed the same for Suzanne Collins (because of the hype) when I read the Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. For this reason, I thought a movie could have easily surpassed the book because it was a very simple story line for an action movie. In the end, the movie was worse than the book and it showed when you have to resort to shaky-cam and fast cuts to try and make it look like a lot of things are happening, when in actuality, nothing is happening.

Was this a cheap B movie production? The shaky-cam and fast cuts showed it and the chariot fire effect just confirms it. I mean, if they can make the human torch light up in the Fastic Four, they should at least make the chariot fire scene more passable. BTW, the chariot fire scene was trying to depict Katniss and Peeta clothes being on fire and not the chariot being on fire if you did not come to that conclusion (hence, the girl on fire reference).

The only positive to the movie is that Jennifer Lawrence is pleasant to the eyes and she has really come a long way since Winter Bones. Ironically, her character in Winter Bones would have made a much more accurate Katniss, just add a bow and some arrows.
Edited by mifronte - 8/19/12 at 10:16pm

My Review:

I enjoyed it up until the end. The ending seemed to be at an incorrect point - though my wide, who agreed with me, read the books and said that was in the book but, of course, better doen in the book. I was genuinely entertained and I liked the way the way it was filmed.

The 'shakey' cam was a big issue for me and only lasted a minute or two. The cinematographer did a great job with gorgeous pans in the forest as well as the stylized close ups. The picture was crisp and clear with good depth (though sometimes lacking, however) and well saturated colors showing off the lush greens in the forest and natural skin tones. This is the type of film (2.40) that really benefits from a Constant Height front projector set up. My screen expands to 14' wide and this film really benefited as the sheer size of the picture in this type of adventure film pulls you right into the action.

Sound in the DTS MA 7.1 soundtrack was excellent. The dialog was well integrated and the 7.1 effects were excellent and on a few occasions moved all about the room. Dynamic range was fantastically good in some areas (animal attack for one) and big, thunderous bass made a presence on a few occasions. This was a first rate soundtrack in my opinion!

All and all I found it a winner in a summer where great releases were few and far in between. Jennifer Lawrence was great!

Better not let your wide read that

LOL - could land in the dog house for a while with that one.

I doubt it would be not noticeable if you heard both side-by-side

If its 768k it is really noticeable in difference.

But I also heard its good. Not great though - whole different thing there that is.

Bought it for cheap at Target, and it lists 7.1 surround. Cannot watch it until the weekend, but I'm looking forward to it. Shaky cam does not bother me, so I don't have any prejudice going in.

I have to say I didn't notice all the "shakey cam". I've been put off by it in quite a few films, but not this one, so I'm not jumping on the bandwagon.

I think I'm going to just have to give this another go if I can get a retail disc for a good price on Black Friday. I rented it from Redbox yesterday. The DD5.1 mix on the Blu-Ray was pretty weak. However, I wasn't overwhelmed by the picture quality, either. Considering Mr. Potts gave it a 90, I have to wonder if the video quality on the rental versions wasn't gimped up along with the audio.

My daughter and I have each read all three books. I thought the movie was a good Cliff Notes version of the story, but you do lose a lot of the depth that the book brings to the story.

Wife and I rented this last night, I can confirm it's DTS HD MA 7.1 here in Canada.
Great AQ, slooooow movie.
cheers

Does anyone know whether the Redbox version contains the DTS-MA audio? The Netflix does not...

KWS

Having seen the Japanese original, entitled "Battle Royale" quite a few years ago, the Hunger Games seemed over-rated and lost the novelty. Having said this, those who have not seen or read about Battle Royale should find this story interesting to say the least. It was an OK rental but not a buy in my book.

Kenobi

No, the Redbox version is only DD 5.1 instead of lossless DTS-MA audio, which disappointed me as well.

I don't understand why there are so many different versions. Special Edition, Limited Edition, Extended Cut, Director's Cut, Rental Exclusive....
Why can't they just make the movie, put the special/extra stuff on it and sell it for a reasonable price, to everyone. Why have neutered versions or release ertain titles to Samsung TV buyers, only? It's stupid. Make a movie, sell me the movie, cut out all the crap that gives people buyers remorse.

I watched the movie last night with the old lady. She had read the books and was explaining things throughout. We had to watch it at -25dB with Dyn Vol at light to avoid waking the wee ons up. It was a mediocre movie that was actually enhanced by her telling me some background about why certain things were occurring. The picture was clear, not as candy-clear as others (Avatar, I'Robot), but looked good other than the shaky camera crap. I appreciate some of the artistic usage of the effect, but it did nothing positive (in my opinion) with this film. The audio had some promise, but we were watching it at low level and she wanted to cuddle on the couch (off-axis from the primary listening position). I am going to watch it, again, at appropriate movie levels, but I am looking forward to some of the scenes/moments.

Granted, I don't know if this is studio mandated or Redbox but Redbox is slowly starting to wear on me. The idea behind BD is for premium picture AND sound. But at a premium charge (compared to DVD's) this is NOT what you are getting from Redbox. This ins't right. Furthermore, going back to when banks attempted to impose a surcharge on debit transactions recently Redbox increased their prices to account for this surcharge. But when the court said it was illegal and banks couldn't impose the charge Redbox never reduced their prices. I stopped doing business with Blockbuster because I got ripped off (actually, my kids got ripped off) with the acquisition and how they handled the gift card situation. I'm sick of being taken advantage of!

Finally watched this. Ugh, this shaky cam obsession has GOT to stop. Directors obsessed with using an effect to the point of abuse need to be slapped back to common sense. When someone is sitting still and talking, there is NO reason for the camera to be wavering, wandering, wiggling and jiggling all over the place. Hey, I'm all for giving senior citizens the opportunity to work past retirement age if they wish it, but not if they can no longer hold the camera steady. In addition, the director/ scene editor seemed to have forgotten his Ritalin as there were numerous scenes in the early parts where the scenes just cut from one to another to another continuously in rapid flashes way too much.

The good news is that it's worst for the first 25-30 minutes after which, they apparently give the camera to someone who is actually capable of physically holding an object steady.

The movie itself is overall, quite enjoyable. Not exactly for the nonstop slam bang action crowd, so those seeking/expecting that might be better off looking elsewhere. I found it fairly entertaining, but it's difficult to enjoy a movie if the first 30 minutes are geared to produce motion sickness. Some of the directors these days don't seem to understand the concept of moderation. If they like an effect, they're all too prone to abuse it (shaky cams, lens flares etc.)

The audio mixers on the other hand, seem to be quite cognizant of the concept. Very nice subtle use of LFE to enhance the drama and anticipation in some scenes, and heighten the impact and power/force in others.


Max

Well we watched it. Wife thought it was odd but pretty good. Im not sure what all the hype was about...I just thought it was odd. the cannons did sound good though. Final word" MEH

So the NF version of this and the RB version of this both have a crappy inexcusable DD 5.1 version soundtrack on it! Does anyone know if BB has it as well? I'd assume it does but I have the NF version and refuse to watch it due to it not being the HD 7.1. mad.gif

Thanks.