The Hunger Games (spoilers itt)

[jumpluff]

HI! Okay, so a LOT of people here know that I am kinda wild about this trilogy, and I've been super hyped for the film adaptation of the first book. It came out in Australia a few days ago, and I absolutely loved it. I know lots of you like it as well, so let's discuss it! You should probably avoid this thread if you don't want to be spoiled, by the way, but I'll give a synopsis of the premise underneath the poster:

Wikipedia - IMDb - Official website
​

For those of you who don't know, The Hunger Games is a dystopian young adult novel set in a post-apocalyptic USA (now called Panem). Panem is divided into twelve poor industrial districts and the Capitol, a technologically-advanced, wealthy area where the inhabitants are largely idle and ignorant, living in luxury provided by the economic exploitation of the people in the districts. Following a rebellion that ultimately resulted in the Capitol regaining power and further oppressing the people of Panem, every year a girl and a boy aged 12-18 are chosen by lottery to represent each district in The Hunger Games: a fight to the death in an arena where only one person can win. The Hunger Games is basically a reality television show; the people of the districts are forced to watch, while the Capitol considers it the entertainment event of the year, betting on their favourites, pooling money to give them life-saving presents in the arena (sponsorships), and eagerly tuning in for each gory death. The ultimate goal of the game-makers: to give a good show.

Our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, is a teenage girl in District 12, a mining district and the poorest one of all. Withdrawn, snarky, and stubborn, Katniss is pretty fierce and independent, only really softening up around her little sister Prim. She fends for her family, now that her father is dead from a mining explosion, by illegally hunting in the forests with a bow and selling most of what she catches on the black market. When her sister is chosen against all odds to be the female tribute for her district, Katniss volunteers to go in her place and participate in the year's Hunger Games.

(The premise is similar to that of Battle Royale, but the themes are very different!)

My opinion (spoilers)

As a longtime fan of THG, the film was a very satisfyingly faithful reproduction. A few of the omitted scenes would've made the movie better, in my opinion (such as Gale chewing out Madge at the start), and revealed more about the setting, but the addition of the District 11 rebellion was excellent. I've heard complaints that the Games were not like people envisioned, but that was pretty much exactly how I envisioned them, so I was very happy on that front. I cried during Rue's death, which was fittingly touching, and when Katniss volunteered for Prim.

I took my mother to see THG, and I felt the movie was a bit ambiguous, and that was its major flaw. While you could absolutely follow it and enjoy it without having read the book, I believe it would've been a lacking experience. Firstly, because this is the kind of movie that really suffers from the translation from first-person novel to third-person movie. The loss of Katniss's inner narrative made the setting a lot less elaborate and her reactions and behaviour harder to understand. I actually could see how someone would think Katniss was mad at Peeta for wasting bread, because even when the flashback was fully revealed, it kinda looked like Peeta was tossing it to the pigs. It was only made clear in the cave.

I really hate Peeta's actor, so no comment there (I guess he could've been worse...), but I felt Katniss was very well-acted, though I expressed scepticism about her casting originally... Jennifer Lawrence just nailed the facial expressions and Prim/Rue-Katniss interactions. Too bad that, without the aforementioned Katniss narration, you'd get a very different impression of her from the film than you would from the books, I think. I imagined Haymitch as a lot sleazier, but his sarcasm was pulled off perfectly. He was brilliant. I also would've made Cinna a bit more fabulous, but he was very fly and his interactions with Katniss were some of the film's strongest points (SHIPTEASE ON THE HELICOPTER :X). Prim was well-acted as well, as was Rue; I particularly enjoyed Prim's huge, serious eyes, they really suited her imo. A lot was said with her face even though she mostly just cried / screamed, playing such a minor part in the first book and all.

I'm looking forward to Snow in Catching Fire (come on, you know it's coming, just look at the ending lol, they kept it perfectly intact with the abrupt sequel hook and all), he should be a lot more cloying imo, but he didn't really appear in the first book so that was kinda improv. Caesar was perfect.

ALSO, THE DRESSES OMFG THE INTERVIEW DRESSES I WANT I WANT I WANT

Favourite scenes: Katniss shoots the pig, anything with Cinna in it, Rue's death, tracker jackers

Overall, I'm the kind of person who almost always prefers the book, and while I still feel you'd get the better experience from reading the book, I loved the film and found it a perfect supplement to the text. It brought to life most of the things I'd imagined pretty well.

 

[vonFiedler]

Saw it yesterday and I'll probably chat about it on the irc to a greater extent, but

The loss of Katniss's inner narrative made the setting a lot less elaborate and her reactions and behaviour harder to understand.

Yeah I remember you saying this before, but it's a movie. You can understand her by SHOWING her reactions to things. I never felt her character was ambiguous, unlike Peeta whose motivations I'm still theorizing about.

It wasn't as good as Battle Royale. It can still be good, it was very good. But I heard a lot people saying "oh well it's just the premise", and you guys are absolutely mental. In every way that I afforded the story the benefit of the doubt it ended up being exactly like BR anyway. Plot point for plot point this is Battle Royale with very few alterations (like the sponsors that I can only hope actually matter more in the book). Everytime my friend and I saw something stolen from BR we turned to each other and pantomimed taking shots.

At least the sequel couldn't possibly be worse than Battle Royale 2, so there is looking forward to that. And I do think I will read the books now so that's saying something. But at the end of the day the only thing that made Hunger Games worth existing was that it has a strong female lead. If it had a male protagonist I would be much harder on it. But I give it an A-.

 

[RaRe555]

Before anything, I just wanna say that the one thing I love about watching the movie more than when reading the book, is that everything just feels MUCH more real to me. [SPOILER ALERT] Katniss volunteering, Rue's death, the mutts (although their name didn't show up anywhere or their resemblance to the dead tributes, which sucked a little imo), how Glimmer (or Clove? don't remember) died to the tracker jackers, and a TON more stuff had such a stronger impression on me in the movie than when I read them.

Regarding actors, I would have loved if President Snow had been played by someone younger, since that's how I remember picturing him when reading the book. Other than that, I didn't find any terrible performances, and my favorite ones were Katniss, Rue and OH MY GOD I LOVED EFFIE TRINKET (whose name I don't remember hearing in the film ?_? and damn I wish her hair had actually been pink but that may have been overkill considering her dress and makeup lol).

I agree there were a few scenes which would have made the movie a whole lot better, and others which were a little badly done imo. I didn't like how the mockingjay pin was not really shown as a district representation until the very end. I also didn't like how Katniss just stood like a retard for a little while at the Cornucopia when the Games began, made it feel a little too unreal to me. The fire during the tribute parade should have been bigger, although I imagine that's a little complicated to do.

With all that said, I loved loved loved watching it, and comparing it to other books-made-movies, I think they did a pretty nice job with it. Dying to watch Catching Fire (which was absolutely the best book) and Mockingjay. Because they have to make them. They just fucking have to :'(

PS: I am dying to know who's gonna play Finnick :D [/SPOILER ALERT]

 

[Pernicious]

It wasn't as good as Battle Royale. It can still be good, it was very good. But I heard a lot people saying "oh well it's just the premise", and you guys are absolutely mental. In every way that I afforded the story the benefit of the doubt it ended up being exactly like BR anyway. Plot point for plot point this is Battle Royale with very few alterations (like the sponsors that I can only hope actually matter more in the book). Everytime my friend and I saw something stolen from BR we turned to each other and pantomimed taking shots..

i read in an interview w/ director gary ross that he apparently deliberately abstained from watching battle royale to minimize crossover between the two films. i'll be seeing hunger games tomorrow so maybe i'll agree that there's a significant (and possibly disturbing) amount of overlap between the two but if what ross said is true it seems odd to me that there would be so many copied moments. anyway, i do think hunger games, despite all its blood and gore (the book was far gorier than anything i've heard about the movie, cato's scars notwithstanding) is in a way less "dark" than BR...hunger games seems to lead towards a point of light by the end of the novel series whereas the main characters' fate at the end of BR is mostly uncertain. from what i've read, columbine shootings and the like took away from BR's chances of being remade and once HG came around it was seen as more kid-friendly so the (BR) remake was tossed aside like an underperforming mine worker. i think that's fairly interesting as many have compared HG to twilight + harry potter and it's odd that a series with such a horrifying (really, it's disturbing lol) premise would be considered a young adult novel.

agree with your comments about katniss/jennifer lawrence being a strong female lead...she really carries the movie imo. josh hutcherson does well in my opinion but peeta is a really more difficult character to play as he's morally ambiguous and hutcherson normally plays nice boys.

 

[Stratos]

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD HUNGER GAMES

okay so let me start by saying that I completely understand now the way rabid Harry Potter fans felt when Order of the Phoenix was translated into film because every tiny little scene that they left out in the movie felt like a big gaping hole to me (case in point: madge, haymitch saying "don't die," the bread from 11). Overall, though, don't get me wrong, the movie was amazing, i'm just being a puritanical freak. I felt like most of the casting was spot-on, especially for Cinna, Effie, Crane (to be fair we don't really know what he was like) and Snow.

I really felt like the movie was more of a complement to the book than a video version; the movie's third-person narrative allowed you to see things Katniss could not, with the book giving you a lot of insight you would completely miss in the movie. Overall what miffed me about the movie was that it was completely unwatchable if you haven't read the book. I mean, i came away from the movie with absolutely no impression whatsoever that Katniss didn't actually love Peeta, which was my biggest peeve. I agree that Peeta's actor was pretty terrible, and I don't like the way they changed Rue's death. The entire point was that Katniss was helpless to stop her death and it made her sad ok? Trying to use Flickerman to reveal some of Katniss's thoughts was a clever idea, but it worked out rather meh. also, i did not expect the tribute parade to be at all like how it was; who else wanted a big ride through the city? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AVOX GIRL?

Some other things that annoyed me in no particular order were: Haymitch was far too sober and didn't hate Katniss enough; THEY TOTALLY MESSED UP THE ENDING WITH THE CORNUCOPIA; it was a needle, not a cream, get it right; and the fact that two-thirds of the book wound up on the cutting room floor.

Of course, anything they did put in, I loved without exception. Some nice touches were the parts with Snow and Crane, seeing the Gamemakers in action, and especially the part at the end with Crane and the nightlock, which was brilliant.

Oh and also if they haven't started filming Catching Fire yet, they are dumb.

My two cents

EDIT: Von, if you tried to watch the movie without reading the book (which i assume you did when you mentioned the sponsors) then you have not scraped the surface of The Hunger Games yet.

 

[vonFiedler]

Yeah I've heard people saying this was kid friendly or censored or not dark, but I mean it really pushed a PG-13 rating with a lot of blood (comparable to BR really, but no gore) and some deaths with a lot of impact on screen. I do appreciate that.

i read in an interview w/ director gary ross that he apparently deliberately abstained from watching battle royale to minimize crossover between the two films. i'll be seeing hunger games tomorrow so maybe i'll agree that there's a significant (and possibly disturbing) amount of overlap between the two but if what ross said is true it seems odd to me that there would be so many copied moments.

Except that it is based off of a book...

 

[jumpluff]

I don't know if I'm just bad at reading people, but while I felt she was portrayed well non-verbally, she has a LOT of rambling going on inside the book, particularly at the point where the Peeta thing was less 'acting to get sponsorships' and more sincere, started giving her that ~*~*~inner romantic conflict~*~*~ that is only really remarked upon on the train going home, and in regards to Peeta in general, that I found to be an important part of her character (as well as for expository purposes, but the storyline was usually pretty simple in the first book). It makes her easier for me to relate to as well.

Peeta's motivations are, however, supposed to be ambiguous from Katniss's perspective -- in the whole series, his ability to act and disguise his motivations is constantly contrasted to Katniss's, and she never really knows where he's coming from in the first book. So I suppose that was done pretty well, even though I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate his actor aaaa

The sponsors are a big deal in the book as plot devices. Katniss's behaviour (and the whole Peeta/Katniss thing) in the first book is centred around how she acts false to her nature to get the advantages she needs from the sponsors, and while she can mask her emotions very well, she's bad at making people like her. (I'll go as far as to say she's very manipulative on an interpersonal nature as well, which is something the later books discuss.) It's kinda lampshaded a bit in the conversation she had with Peeta before the start of the games -- Peeta just wants to die while staying true to himself, whereas Katniss can't afford that kind of idealism, because she has to survive at whatever the costs and go back to Prim. Though ultimately the Rue flowers and the nightlock are supposed to be acts of political defiance first and foremost, I wasn't sure or not if that was clear in the film...

Also, yes, THG is very character-driven (the story hits all the right buttons for things I like so I'll lap it up in whatever form it's given to me, frankly... I feel like the story is supposed to be a more major aspect but, being real here, it's a typical YA novel in almost every respect), and though I know HD will disagree with me here, I feel Katniss is one of its selling points and one of the more refreshing parts of the series. While her dilemmas, personal plotlines, etc. are very very typical, I find her to be fairly different to a lot of other prominent heroines of her genre.

Pernicious: Like I said, the film is pretty much a reproduction of the book. So you can really blame it on Suzanne Collins, though iirc she's claimed she never read Battle Royale until after finishing the first book (though I find that a little hard to believe lol...). Oh, man, everyone here should read that if they haven't already btw

 

[Stagnant]

I've heard this is comparable to Twilight. EG:
Target Fans: Tweens, Girls

Confirm or Deny?

 

[Draycos7]

Deny. Heavily.
This is a great modern literature series. I haven't seen the movie yet and I don't plan on it. Movies based on books tend to not be very good in my opinion. My favorite character is probably Beetee, he's a cool guy.

 

[icepick]

I saw it yesterday. It took me until half way through the previews after two Kristen Stewart trailers before I realized that it was a girls' movie. Fuck.

 

[ginganinja]

Loved the book, loved the movie. Iirc Catching Fire is a year and a half or so away (cannot remember where I read that sorry) but cannot wait. Ill prolly post more thoughts later but I was glad that (by and large) the movie did stick close to the book while still staying true to the themes of the book which is cause for celebration I guess since they so often get it wrong...

 

[jumpluff]

I've heard this is comparable to Twilight. EG:
Target Fans: Tweens, Girls

Confirm or Deny?

Yes, it has a similar romantic tension plot and the exact same demographic (adolescent girls) -- I remember cringing when Stephenie Meyer's praise of the first book was put on the jackets. It is much, much better than Twilight, particularly the books. I've read all of Twilight (the latter ones so I can hate on it from an educated perspective and not one that is simply regurgitated from internet reviews), and the writing, characterisation, and general intelligence level in The Hunger Games is a considerable improvement. Katniss is actually strong and compelling, and her flaws are explored with much more honesty than Bella's.

 

[Solace]

I saw it yesterday with a theater full of crazed Hunger Games fans, so my experiences ranged from people absolutely loving it to people being sorely disappointed.

Personally, I thought the movie did a great job, although as pluff pointed out the transition from Katniss's narration to a third-person really made it difficult to understand what was going on.

I thought Jennifer Lawrence did a great job as Katniss, and really fit the part. She was able to be sassy when necessary, but also kind and caring, and I think she just nailed it.


Overall, I thought the movie was really great, and I'd definitely see the next two whenever they come out. Reading the books is definitely a good thing to do before/after seeing the movie though so you really know what's going on.

 

[jumpluff]

I saw it at 10:15 AM on a Thursday. It was the first showing, and even though I live in a town of about 50k people, there were like rows of people -- in all the weekday showings I've attended previously, I've had the theatre to myself. Mostly schoolgirls, a few of them seemed to have brought their boyfriends along. Pretty sure they all skipped school to see it, haha.

 

[Jebus McAzn]

spoilers

took my mother to see THG, and I felt the movie was a bit ambiguous, and that was its major flaw. While you could absolutely follow it and enjoy it without having read the book, I believe it would've been a lacking experience. Firstly, because this is the kind of movie that really suffers from the translation from first-person novel to third-person movie. The loss of Katniss's inner narrative made the setting a lot less elaborate and her reactions and behaviour harder to understand. I actually could see how someone would think Katniss was mad at Peeta for wasting bread, because even when the flashback was fully revealed, it kinda looked like Peeta was tossing it to the pigs. It was only made clear in the cave.

spoilers

I dunno. I liked the translation from first-person to third-person, especially for one reason: It turns the movie audience into the Hunger Games audience. By flipping back and forth between a view of the Games and the commentary that Claudius and Caesar provide, it lets us forget the immediate horror of some of the deaths and laugh at Caesar's jokes and ridiculous hair. In the books, we were forced to sympathize with Katniss during the entire ordeal (not that we shouldn't be; it's just that it's constantly from her point of view). In the movies, we can forget the immediate atrocity of some of the deaths with some of the comic relief that Caesar gives us, and the fact that the producers of the film managed to pull that off while not making it immediately obvious is frightening to me.

It may have been a little hard to understand, but like HP7, it takes a little liberty in that you'll have an easier time following if you've read the book. Still, I think it does an admirable job explaining what needs to be said. The bread and the pigs, for example, wasn't poorly done at all. You may be wondering what's going on but the fact that they don't explain it until the cave scene isn't a bad thing, it's just another plot cliffhanger waiting to be resolved.

Speaking of Harry Potter and the comparison to HP5 that Pwnemon made, I agree and disagree. The book did cut out a lot of stuff, such as the goat and cheese stew, Madge, some of Gale's character development, the storm, the way Cato dies, etc. However, none of the things they cut out were essential to the plot, and they left most of the things in the book as they should be. It's a very fast film and I think they did a great job keeping in what needed to be kept in and staying true to the plot, unlike HP4 or HP5.

 

[Solace]

I saw it at 7:40pm yesterday, and the line was huge. One of my friends was lucky enough to be one of the first on line, and almost literally had to push people down in order to save seats for our group haha.

People were applauding at all the sassy Katniss scenes, crying at Rue's death, cheering at Katniss's successes, some clapping at the deaths of some of the careers, and obviously people loving the Peeta x Katniss scenes, and a minority cheering on the Gale x Katniss scenes. It was pretty great, since you see how so many people just really get into the series, and I just thought it made it more enjoyable, although some people were really irritated (like the salty older woman behind us who kept complaining that we were too loud lol)

 

[Fatecrashers]

As someone who has never touched the books, I enjoyed the movie for what it is, my only nitpick is that it seemed strange that the Tributes from District 9 were two bug aliens.

 

[VKCA]

Just mildly curious, is this like a song of fire and ice where I'm not really missing anything by just seeing the video instead of reading the book/is the book only worth reading if I'm impatient?

 

[jumpluff]

You can follow it without the book, but I recommend reading the book afterwards for the experience. Disclaimer: I always advocate reading the book in the case where it is the original source for a film.

 

[Ditto]

I felt that there was a good amount of stuff missing that could have easily been implemented into the story and the absence of took a lot out of it for me.

Hide

1. Katniss screaming out Peeta's name when the rule change was announced. Instead she just whispered it and then went looking for him. The whole idea of that moment is that it is a gut reaction that she has no control over, which is why she forcibly covers her mouth after. While the overall romantic connection between Katniss and Peeta was more pronounced than in the book (in my opinion), this would have just enhanced it.

2. Similarly, they cut out the part where Peeta says "I don't have much competition here." and Katniss says "You never had much competition." That is such a strong moment from the audience's perspective, and showing the star crossed lovers act.

3. I didn't like the implementation of the notes with the parachutes. It ruined the intellectual connection between Haymitch and Katniss. Along with this, but understandably cut, were the scenes where she has no water and when she gives Peeta the sleep syrup.

4. I really missed Haymitch's "Stay alive" line while on the train and later before the arena. Also the point where he says that they may actually have a chance in the arena because they both seem like fighters, again on the train.

5. They never really mentioned the strategy of staying together all throughout training, and took the hand holding idea from Cinna and made it an impromptu move for Peeta. They also didn't show the Katniss that flirts with audience during the parade.

6. NO LOVE SEAT! The whole point is that they now have to show they are in love, or rather Katniss has to perform, and there is lack of physical connection that was very important in the book (in my opinion) during this scene.

7. This one would have been harder to implement seamlessly into the movie, but the ending with the muttations. The eyes and numbers, as well as the torturing of Cato and dreadful agony of Peeta almost dying because of his leg. This also would have led to the moment on the aircraft where she screams for him when they are apart. Another incredibly powerful moment for their development.

8. The ending where Katniss says that she's not sure how much of her love her Peeta was an act and how much of it was true. This is a huge part of the story. I guess they are gonna begin Catching Fire with that or something.

Those are the one's off the top of my head. However, overall I thought that the movie was very good. I liked most of the acting, and the only really bad acting moment for me was when Peeta was screaming at Katniss to run after the Tracker Jacker incident. Me and my friends began to laugh at that point. And while I might seem very critical, I must say that I did enjoy some of the new aspects they added.

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1. Haymitch talking with the sponsors in order to get the medicine and later when he talks Seneca into making the rule change.

2. The riot scene from district 11. I don't know what they are gonna do during the Victory Tour, but I thought it was such a nice touch.

3. Cato's moment of realization when he is about to die. I think it is such a nice touch, showing that he wasn't the real villain of the story. He was just another piece in the Capitol's game. It made him a real person, where he really didn't seem that way before.

4. The changing of the mockingjay pin. The movie's story give the pin so much more meaning. However, I do like the fact that the following books are all about how symbols are not always what they seem to be, with the Mockingjay and such. A very good statement on literary heroes in general.

5. The scenes in the rose garden. While they eventually got a bit annoying, I liked the concept overall. It gave a nice way to show the characterization of Snow. Although I didn't like the fact that Katniss got the 11 for her skill. I always assumed it was because she had pissed them off, and they wanted to make her a target.

6. Seneca Crane's execution. You hear about it in Catching Fire, but they never tell you the exact method. Killing him with the Hemlock (or whatever) was just beautiful in my opinion.

 

[Ouro]

First of all, Peeta and Gale were both hotties. Second, Jennifer Lawrence/Lawston or whatever the fuck did an awful job as Katniss. Katniss was portrayed in the books as someone who was always pushing others away, always keeping to herself, not some monotone robot. I am not sure if the blame is all her fault though, the movie had a lot of scenes and details removed/altered "for your viewing pleasure."

The movie completely missed out on the relationship Katniss has with other people. It did not establish the intimacy of her relationship with Gale, how important Prim is to her, how significant her father's death is/was, how unattached she is to her mother, Peeta's unrequited love for Katniss, how important her limited interactions with Rue were.

Ugh I think Ill cut myself off right there.....

 

[jumpluff]

All of what you said is summed up as the movie's biggest flaw and all caused by one problem -- Katniss was not the narrator. I don't think that is Jennifer's fault. Perhaps they were going for what Jebus McAzn pointed out, that you are meant to be the Capitol audience and not Katniss anymore, idk.

Ditto: About the parachutes, they had to do that because you couldn't tell what Katniss was thinking otherwise. I agree with you that they should have kept the damage to Peeta's leg (as well as the damage to Katniss's hearing, which was a massive limitation for her in the books and incredibly disorientating). Also I missed the Katniss/Peeta nearness at the end too.

 

[Ditto]

Oh! I just remembered another huge moment that I was angry wasn't there. When the rule change is revoked and Katniss immediately readies an arrow. Such a telling moment as a character.

also, I just told this to pluff on IRC, but I'll post it again here for everyone else. I pictured Haymitch at a television screen saying that she needed to do those things and her looking at the camera to show that she knows

 

[vonFiedler]

K I touched on this but you guys are just plain acting like anyone who hasn't read the book is retarded.

Case in point

The movie completely missed out on the relationship Katniss has with other people. It did not establish the intimacy of her relationship with Gale, how important Prim is to her, how significant her father's death is/was, how unattached she is to her mother, Peeta's unrequited love for Katniss, how important her limited interactions with Rue were.

No, no it did not. I did not read the book, but I got ALL of this from the movie. It is a movie. You have limited time to get points of cross, but you are supposed to show and not tell. So don't worry about the "I can only IMAGINE how confused people who are without first person narration", the movie was perfect in that regard.

 

[Metal Bagon]

I'm unlucky enough to have not seen the movies yet, but I'm just wondering if the movies live up to high expectations that the books set?