Usually I hate watching book-to-movie films after I've already read the book. They never live up to the expectations of the movie in my head. There's only been one movie so far that I find better than the book, and that is the Lord of the Rings.
So, after reading The Hunger Games (you can read my book review here), I watched the movie starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Stanley Tucci. And... I was very disappointed.
NOTE: the rest of the review will contain strong hints and spoilers of what happened in the book and the movie. If you do not wish to be spoiled, it is best to not read on.
Of course, for those who've read the book, you'll know that what worked in the story was the narration of the protagonist Katniss, what she was thinking, and her flashbacks. That is always difficult to show in a film so the movie struggled with that. And despite their big budget, I was rather unimpressed with most of the CGI scenes, especially when Katniss and Peeta made their grand fiery entrance in the chariot.
I also hated how they changed many vital scenes and things. Such as how Rue died. In the movie, Marvel aimed to kill Katniss and accidentally hit Rue instead. But in the book, he waited for Katniss to show up so that she could watch him kill Rue. It was, in a sense, Marvel trying to punish Katniss by making her watch helplessly, because he was angry that Katniss kept foiling the Careers' plans. All of this was not present in the movie, which i think made it less fulfilling.
Another scene that springs into mind was how the movie included the riots of District 11 after they watched Rue die. It doesn't make sense, because the riots happen after the 74th Hunger Games. They began because the population watched how Katniss and Peeta defied the Capital with their nightlock berries, and instead of being punished, they were rewarded with their lives and winnings. This sparks the districts into rebelling, because they saw the hope and the possibility to rebel without dying. This is another example of how powerful the book is compared to the movie.
I can think of many other things, but one of the things I was most disappointed with was Thresh. What little that was written of him in the books was very well-written. He was large, quiet, and emotionless towards other tributes, including Rue, until near the end. And his ending in the movie was definitely less than satisfying. I had hoped that they would have shown Thresh and Cato's final battle in the movie. Instead, Thresh was killed by mutts... the book was far definitely better.
Acting-wise, I also felt that most of the actors were very lackluster. The only person I truly like was Stanley Tucci, who really exceeded my expectations as host Caeser Flickerman. I've always felt the Stanley Tucci does a great job in all his movies, from Shall We Dance to the Devil Wears Prada.
The only scene that I felt was better than the book was at the end when Seneca Crane was locked in a room with an elegant bowl of deadly nightlock berries. It seemed almost like a poetic irony, rather than just being hanged, as mentioned in the book. However, if you remember Catching Fire showed Katniss 'hanging' Seneca Crane while showing off her talent in the 3 minute segment with the judges. That was an important scene, so I wonder how the second movie will be able to portray that, if the second movie gets made.
All in all, The Hunger Games was a very disappointing movie. I won't really hold my breath for Catching Fire.
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