The Hunger Games (2012)

Based on the popular young adult novel by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games petitions to keep the book's youthful audience without diminishing the story's complicated context. Adapted by Collins, Billy Ray, and Gary Ross, who also directed, the film exhibits profound themes, including a smart pastiche of allusions to literary and cinematic classics, as well as historical periods, and a compelling narrative drive, which, through its strong female protagonist, gazes wide-eyed yet steadily at the reach of tyranny.

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