Hunger Games review

So this is going to have to be short since I need to pack and stuff to go back to school but I literally just got back from the theater and I felt like I needed to write something. Again, these are my personal opinions and if you don't like them...well, I'll leave it up to your imagination just what exactly you can do with them. I'm going to try really hard not to give away spoilers but if I do, I'm sorry.

So generally when I watch movies that are based off of books I usually feel really disappointed because they leave things out and the books have become way too important for me to judge the a movie as a piece of storytelling. Usually it just seems like a pale imitation of what I pictured the books to be like, and in extreme cases, completely and totally off from what I expected.

The Hunger Games did leave out a few details that I thought would have made it really chilling(i.e. the individualized wolves). Also, things felt incredibly rushed despite the fact that the film was two and a half hours long. So in that sense, yes the book was better. One other point worth making is that some details that they decided to keep(tesserae/how the names can be put in more than once, the fact that the medicine was expensive and paid for by the sponsors) were set up rather poorly. I only really realized this because I was watching the movie with someone who had never read the books. But once we realize that those shortcomings are a result of the medium and the makers, I think despite all of that it was a very good film.

So here's what I really liked about the film: the cinematography was kind of choppy whenever you were really supposed to be inside Katniss' mind which was a little bit headache inducing but a very important artistic choice, and I ultimately approve of it. Also, I liked how the background story(like with President Snow and Seneca, and Haymitch shmoozing) was shown rather than told up front, like it is in the book. It gives the viewer more of a sense of the characters' humanity which is interesting for me, but not Katniss' focus since she's trying to fight for survival. I would also like to commend Effie Trinket's performance ("But I don't think they can have dessert, and YOU can!"). Brill. Final note, the Career alliance seemed very playful when hunting people down which was horrific but also a good choice; I think it just enhanced the savagery of the Games and culminated with Cato's speech/realization(sorry to be vague, but trying not to spoil things).

Overall, I really liked what they did with the film. They filled out parts that I hadn't thought too much about and the things that I did were pretty much spot on. If they weren't, I think that they make perfect logical sense within the context of the film. If you haven't seen it, I would suggest that you go whenever possible. The odds will be ever in your favor.