April 8, 2016
The Hunger Games Complete 4-Film Collection
JC Alvarez READ TIME: 3 MIN.
When a boy wizard literally took the world by storm, the film franchise that it inspired became the most lucrative in history. Of course as that 7-book epic was coming to a close, Hollywood began to scramble to piece together its next phenomenon. That came in the form of the romantic perils of a young woman wrestling between two worlds, the eternal damnation of a vampiric blood lust, or the abs of steel and warm embrace of her best friend - a werewolf. We should all have to face these tough decisions.
As millions of Twi-Hards raced to theaters when the best-selling novelization came to life on the big screen, even as that filmic obsession came to a close, Tinsel Town was waiting in the wings to capture that core audience with another literary adaptation, but this one centered on a uniquely crafted heroine destined to bring justice to her world. Author Suzanne Collins book series introduced us to Katniss Everdeen and the film franchise made a star of Jennifer Lawrence.
Now that the saga has ended, the entire big screen series is captured on Blu-ray and Digital HD in "The Hunger Games" - Complete 4-Film Collection. Katniss, realized in this adventure by the Academy Award Winning Lawrence, finally delivers on the close of her journey facing her greatest trial in the final chapter of the film "Mockingjay" - Part Two which rounds out this 6-disc package. All four films in the series can now be digested in their proper sequence.
The annual fight to the finish that subjected the children of the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem to serve as the "champions" of their districts, garnering untold rewards and riches for the victor, and serving the sinister interests of the corrupt government of the Capitol, is set asunder when a hero emerges - Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who refuses to be a pawn in a political game and inspires a rebellion to lead the world out of poverty and into a new future.
Presenting one of the first fully fleshed out action heroines in a big-screen adventure, Jennifer Lawrence created a modern day Joan of Arc set against the danger of "The Hunger Games" and has risen as a franchise queen grabbing a laterally incredible lead in the Marvel Films rebooted "X-Men" film franchise as the shape-shifting anti-heroine "Mystique." Single-handedly Lawrence trounced the Twi-Hards who were literally "hungry" for strong, lead female characters and "The Hunger Games" features the best!
The 6-disc Blu-ray collection is handsomely packaged for the avid collector and features all four films in high-definition, plus comes packaged with a Digital HD version that you can take with you on the run and enjoy the games anywhere you like. Packed with over 14 hours of bonus features, the set includes deleted scenes from the franchise never-before-seen, audio commentary and all-new featurettes that elaborate on the world created for the film.
It may not have garnered "Star Wars" money or made as indelible an impression as "Harry Potter," but "The Hunger Games" has given rise to a fandom that can't be ignored, and inspired a new action hero for an audience craving more diversity and depths in its science-fiction/fantasy franchises.
"The Hunger Games" Complete 4-Film Collection
available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD
$49.99
www.lionsgate.com
Native New Yorker JC Alvarez is a pop-culture enthusiast and the nightlife chronicler of the club scene and its celebrity denizens from coast-to-coast. He is the on-air host of the nationally syndicated radio show "Out Loud & Live!" and is also on the panel of the local-access talk show "Talking About".