[Movies] The Hunger Games

[Manu]

THERE WAS NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. IF YOU CAN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU'RE AN IDIOT

No need for caps dude.
Yes I now realize that there wasn't much development if you hadn't read the book.

[Panacea]

Honestly, how many movies are as good as the book(s)?

Personally, I wouldn't have been so hyped to see a book-based movie when the most common trend is: Book > Movie.

[Razmos]

THERE WAS NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. IF YOU CAN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU'RE AN IDIOT

There wasn't really any character development until the second book anyway, at least in my mind.

Katniss only realized the extent of her actions from the start of the second book onwards. The first book is just setting the scene if anything.



The subject of where Katniss got the Mockinjay Pin doesn't bother me at all. If anything the film gives it a higher meaning, while in the books it was just given to her by Madge as a gift. Madge then promptly disappeared until a fleeting line or two in the second book and then SPOILER: She dies without any fanfare.

I'm gonna see it tomorrow and doubt i'll be disappointed. But different strokes for different folks i guess.

[TheTempest]

Just watched the movie a while ago (and didn't read the book), it was decent.

EDIT: I enjoyed watching the previews before the movie began.

[Raul]

THE MOVIE IS GOING TO SUCK
IT ALWAYS DOES WITH THESE TYPES OF THING

Pretty sure I called it.

[Manu]

Pretty sure I called it.

OK no, seriously. When it comes to movies based on books, it was pretty good.
You can't compare a movie to the book, it just doesn't work, it will never live up to the expectations.
If anything, I repeat, it was incomplete, but that's because the book is incomplete, it wasn't written like 3 books where each has a ending, it's like one story split into 3 books, so it won't have a real ending until the 3rd movie is done.

[Kurtle]

OK no, seriously. When it comes to movies based on books, it was pretty good.
You can't compare a movie to the book, it just doesn't work, it will never live up to the expectations.
If anything, I repeat, it was incomplete, but that's because the book is incomplete, it wasn't written like 3 books where each has a ending, it's like one story split into 3 books, so it won't have a real ending until the 3rd movie is done.

You're completely wrong. The movie was bland and dull and lacked direction. It rushed through any chance of you getting to know the characters or understand what life was like for them in District 12. It played up the violence and action more than it should have and that was all they were trying to get to for an hour and a half. Literally nothing happened in the movie until the games started. It was very jolty and disconnected and you feel rushed into understanding a whole complex system and character's emotions and motives with no assistance from the film. Haymitch appeared out of thin air, why Effie assisted them made no sense, you didn't understand why they showed Gale back at home when Katniss is in the cave with Peeta, no evidence of Katniss having any thoughts beyond killing, no real reason to want her to save Prim, nothing. The camera angles were terrible and the cinematography was evidently lacking, remember the nauseating film effect during the fight at the end? The movie was bad. Take off your goggles. The only character we really met was Caesar. They used him to keep you from walking out of the theater in disgust.

[Manu]

You're completely wrong. The movie was bland and dull and lacked direction. It rushed through any chance of you getting to know the characters or understand what life was like for them in District 12. It played up the violence and action more than it should have and that was all they were trying to get to for an hour and a half. Literally nothing happened in the movie until the games started. It was very jolty and disconnected and you feel rushed into understanding a whole complex system and character's emotions and motives with no assistance from the film. Haymitch appeared out of thin air, why Effie assisted them made no sense, you didn't understand why they showed Gale back at home when Katniss is in the cave with Peeta, no evidence of Katniss having any thoughts beyond killing, no real reason to want her to save Prim, nothing. The camera angles were terrible and the cinematography was evidently lacking, remember the nauseating film effect during the fight at the end? The movie was bad. Take off your goggles. The only character we really met was Caesar. They used him to keep you from walking out of the theater in disgust.

Stop stating things as fact, those are your opinions, I respect them and you should respect mine.

I already said this but I'm not sure you're even reading my comments, I didn't consider the point of view of someone who hadn't read the books, I read it before and I knew what was going on, I already knew what the characters thought and what had happened. Yes, if you hadn't read them you wouldn't get as much, but hey guess what, I admitted that already on a previous post!

I honestly didn't feel a rush to get to the action, in fact a thing I appreciated was the silent and calm pace it took at first, there was no background music for quite a while making the focus on the dialogues and the characters. Why they showed Gale during the cave scene was pretty obvious, they had shown them earlier in the forest, they had showed the "let's run away" scene and they portrayed how she asked him to take care of her family.

Katniss not having thoughts beyond killing? Maybe it's the "goggles" you mention again, but how she treated Rue after she died reflects her personality. Same thing when she worried about Peeta when he was ill, or when she heard the cannon in the forest while she was hunting.

I guess you read the books, but I think you're underestimating the abilities of people who watch the movie without reading the book, you're talking like it's an idiot watching the movie who will not understand a thing, but a normal person would get a lot of what's going on.

[Kurtle]

Did this even happen?

[Jon]

Did this even happen?

A lot of movies don't use music in the actual movie (sometimes in the credits) but still appear on the soundtrack.

[RahlsSoldier]

I have read the books and I enjoyed the movie. While the character development wasn't particularly strong, it was enough. I was disappointed with how they portrayed the reaping, especially when Prim's name was called, however the pin and bread were similar to how I imagined them.

The Capitol looked and felt how I imagined it and I actually really liked Cinna. I felt that the best points in the movie were when, Caesar was on set, and the blood bath at the beginning of the games. It felt horrifying, the way it should have been. I enjoyed the movie and so did the friends I went with, who had not read the books. They seemed to understand the plot quite well and also thought the movie was very entertaining.

[Razmos]

Just got home from watching it and i think that it was really good, it was very well adapted from book > movie and they kept it very close to the original. Whatever changes and omissions they made were so minor that even though i noticed them i didn't give it a second thought.

Was a bit disappointed with the cornucopia "bloodbath", but it was more than made up for with the firestorm, Glimmer being killed by the tracker jackers and everything that followed.

The only change i would have made to the film would have been Katniss having a voice over so we know her thoughts. The actress did an amazing job at expressing her emotions, but it still could have been a bit clearer. And i can definitely see why people would have a problem with the character development

I'm a veteran when it comes to horror movies, yet i still jumped when the dog muttation jumped out of the bushes, haha

[Jon]

I'm a veteran when it comes to horror movies, yet i still jumped when the dog muttation jumped out of the bushes, haha

Lol, my mom jumped too and she NEVER jumps. I think she's getting soft.

[FelixTM]

Enjoyed it, I guess. I reeeeally like Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss so that's what's holding me to it, but it's definitely just not the same. I felt like...nothing for the characters. At least not anywhere near as much as when I was reading them for the first time. I miss being inside Katniss' head so much. I miss the feeling of attachment, the raw emotion, the tragedy and horror of it all as it comes together.

I did think they did a good job with the Reaping. Felt quite powerful to me. But I honestly felt like a lot of the major power moments in the Games were lacking. The Muttations at the end were a HUGE let down. Probably my biggest disappointment of the movie. Excluding the eyes altogether? Terrible. The scene on the Cornucopia was just nowhere near as amazing as it was supposed to be.

As far as adaptations go I guess I can't complain too much. I understand they have to make many sacrifices for it to work financially/time wise, but it's still always kind of a let down, you know? And I know they had to greatly employ all of that silent pain, jerky camera and cut aways from graphic violence to keep the rating down, but it still really kills the majority of the emotion and intensity. It's a vital part of what makes The Hunger Games so tragic. I truly got a sense of how screwed up the Capitol was with the Muttation scene. The raw violence, the use of the Tributes' eyes to mentally horrify Katniss... I didn't feel any of that in the movie. Because it wasn't there. So many exclusions of detail and even some characters. You have no idea how long they're in the Games in the movie...it all feels so fast and short-lived. Which is totally wrong.

That said, I did like some of the little things they threw in, like locking Crane in that room with the berries. Good scene that I wasn't expecting.

[RahlsSoldier]

Enjoyed it, I guess. I reeeeally like Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss so that's what's holding me to it, but it's definitely just not the same. I felt like...nothing for the characters. At least not anywhere near as much as when I was reading them for the first time. I miss being inside Katniss' head so much. I miss the feeling of attachment, the raw emotion, the tragedy and horror of it all as it comes together.

I did think they did a good job with the Reaping. Felt quite powerful to me. But I honestly felt like a lot of the major power moments in the Games were lacking. The Muttations at the end were a HUGE let down. Probably my biggest disappointment of the movie. Excluding the eyes altogether? Terrible. The scene on the Cornucopia was just nowhere near as amazing as it was supposed to be.

As far as adaptations go I guess I can't complain too much. I understand they have to make many sacrifices for it to work financially/time wise, but it's still always kind of a let down, you know? And I know they had to greatly employ all of that silent pain, jerky camera and cut aways from graphic violence to keep the rating down, but it still really kills the majority of the emotion and intensity. It's a vital part of what makes The Hunger Games so tragic. I truly got a sense of how screwed up the Capitol was with the Muttation scene. The raw violence, the use of the Tributes' eyes to mentally horrify Katniss... I didn't feel any of that in the movie. Because it wasn't there. So many exclusions of detail and even some characters. You have no idea how long they're in the Games in the movie...it all feels so fast and short-lived. Which is totally wrong.

That said, I did like some of the little things they threw in, like locking Crane in that room with the berries. Good scene that I wasn't expecting.

I wasn't disappointed with that muttation scene because it wasn't realistic to have their eyes there. For them to do that you would have to actually see their eyes, a lot. You didn't. It didn't make sense for them to include something that didn't work in the context of the movie.

While I would have liked Katniss to be voiced over, I didn't see it happening as the movie wouldn't have enough time to do it. There is so much internal dialogue in the books that I am surprised that they pulled this movie off in a decent fashion.

[Raph589]

The reaping scene and overall lack of soundtrack were the two things that bugged me the most. For the character development, I tried to catch every tiny sign of it and turned it into what I read in the book, making the movie much more interesting. I also think Cato was way too crazy and his speech at the end made no sense.
And Jennifer Lawrence was too hot and good at acting to make all of this matter anyway.
One of my favorite scene: when Seneca Crane is locked into a room with a bowl of berries. I don't remember reading how he died in the book, and that scene was just genius. The scenes where they showed the gamemakers working was an amazing extra as well.
Overall, I'd give it a 3,5/5.

[Berzerk]

Didn't read the book, went to go see the movie. I wasn't disappointed for it being $8. I really enjoyed the whole concept, but the only thing that kinda irked me was how shaky the camera was when they let everyone out of the tubes.

[Razmos]

Some diehard "Fans" are upset over the fact that Rue was black.

They clearly can't read.

[Malthe]

Some diehard "Fans" are upset over the fact that Rue was black.

They clearly can't read.

“And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor.”

[Razmos]

“And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor.”

Exactly :P
Rue, Thresh and Chaff are the only characters who's skin colour is actually not vague. Those from district 3 had "Olive" skin, district 11 had dark brown skin, and even Katniss was written as having "light grey" skin.

The way it was written in the book just made it sound like Skin Colour and Race just aren't important in Panem. They are already divided into districts, why would there be further division? And then you consider the capitol where people can have green skin, i don't think skin colour was important at all.

The fact that District 11 was predominantly Black could be because of geographical locations before the uprising, same with District 3. If the surviving population hadn't been segregated into districts, everyone probably would have just ended up as one colour anyway.

Link to the article i read