Dystopia is the new vampire.

Suzanne Collins’ young adult flavoured literary phenomenon The Hunger Games hits cinemas this week, but is it worth the hype?

In a conveniently unspecified future, the state of Panem was borne after the equally convenient collapse of America from unknown events; though it’s implied that this was brought about by a failed uprising of America’s people.

The state formerly known as America has since been categorised into twelve new districts who live in poverty while the ruling and totalitarian elite of Capitol can live like queens.

Of course, that’s not enough for this new aristocracy; they also want the proletariat to provide them with some sport and entertainment.

So, as penance for their insubordination, two representatives from each district – one male and one female – are sent forward every year to compete in an event known as The Hunger Games; a nihilistic, gladiatorial battle to the death where twenty four people enter yet only one will leave.

This year witnesses a first though, as Katniss Everdeen becomes the first ever volunteer from District Twelve to spare her younger sister Primrose from competing in the 74th annual Hunger Games.

Katniss is a resourceful character, but will she really be able to survive against all the odds in the Capitol’s arena?

Seeing as this is the first of three hugely successful books from the pen of Collins’, it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to work out the survival prospects for the lead character in this new epic movie franchise.

Having never read the books, I came into this movie cold to the hunger games universe but excited. I’d heard the hype and read the positive reviews in most every creditable mainstream media source, so was looking forward to an intelligent new cinematic blockbuster to warm me up.

But, as is becoming depressingly familiar for these hugely successful pre adult books that get turned into films, something gets lost in translation.

Namely that whoever made The Hunger Games never thought to seek the opinion of a single person who’s yet to read the books.

Having premeditated such an outcome, I made sure the odds were forever in my favour by bringing someone who was au fait with Collins’ canon of insanely popular novels.

And it’s a good thing I did too, as you’ll need someone on hand to fill in all the blanks left Director Gary Ross’ rather presumptuous adaptation.

Obviously, we’re supposed to root for Katniss and her cause, to take up her two dimensional moral stance against totalitarian brutality of the regime she has to exist within.

Yet there’s never any real exploration of this oppressive regime and why or how it came to be, just some faux call to arms for rebellion against the established status quo of privilege and excess.

Which is a salient point to make about modern society, as our near sighted capitalist civilisations approach their inevitable conclusions.

If only this point wasn’t spawned from a soulless franchise that’s only reason for being is to make as much money as is humanly possible from the now ripe post Twilight audience with its generic, tailor made product.

Every single character is notable for their complete lack of any genuine human emotion or insight.

Jennifer Lawrence plays the titular hero, Katniss Everdeen and does a damn fine job of it too. She’s young, self sacrificing and hot; so what’s not to like about that?

And if Ross had spent more than three minutes establishing any sort of credible back story to Katniss’ character, you might even care what happens to her as she’s thrust headfirst into the infamously toned down gore of The Hunger Games on these shores.

Joss Hutcherson plays the boy drawn from the same district as Katniss, Peeta Mellark, though I don’t need to tell you about the narrative arc of these two characters for you to work out what destiny has in store for them.

Not that you’ll believe any of it for a second mind, kind of like the entire supporting cast actually. With the notable exception of Amandla Stenberg as Rue, who shows up the majority of her more experienced acting peers by making you care about what happens to her.

There’s some thinly veiled commentary on reality tv bolted on as well, with the televised nature of The Hunger Games and garish depiction of our potential future coming off as some bastard lovechild of Simon Cowell and Lady Gaga’s stylist.

While I’ve no doubt the docile masses will demand a new television product that satisfies human nature’s lust for blood once they eventually tire of watching puppets singing for their entertainment, there’s no real bite to the way this is portrayed.

If these supposedly satirical elements were competing for the most compelling imagining future of reality tv, they’d be voted off at the first chance.

Sadly, dystopia truly is the new vampire.

And as anyone who’s sat through a single instalment of the interminable Twilight saga could tell you, that’s no good thing.

Jonathan Campbell