The Hunger Games Movie

Like many fans of the novel, I was eager to see how The Hunger Games would turn out on the big screen. Would it be similar to the original story? Too different? Would they tone down the violence? On opening night I had scored some great seats for the 12:01am showing, so that I could find out. Here are my thoughts:

What I Really Liked:

- Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark (he actually looked like how I had pictured Peeta)

- Lenny Kravitz as Cinna (he was so likeable and made a great Cinna)

- Woody Harrelson as Haymitch (I admit to not liking him in the role at first, but he really grew on me)

- The way the bottom of the red dress Katniss wore to the interview looked when she twirled

- How the movie really followed the book without anything changed in a way that was too crazy

- How they actually showed people who were watching the Hunger Games on TV

- The rebellion of District 11

- Juxtaposing scenes of Snow with the scenes of the games. It better illustrated that more was going on with the government, and foreshadowed more trouble to come

What I Really Didn't Like:

- I really couldn't feel anything for the on-screen characters. In the novel, I cried when Rue died, I was worried for Peeta when he was ill, and I was afraid of Cato. I understand their was limited time the film had, but Rue wasn't on screen long enough for me to feel sad at her death; Peeta really was in a hell of a lot worse shape in the book than onscreen; and the threat of Cato seemed a lot milder in the film. 

- The Mutts (They didn't even mention the human aspect of the mutts & their eerie similarities to the dead players, which made them much less terrifying than they should have been)

- The look of the costumes Peeta & Katniss wore when they were "on fire" riding the chariots

- I understand the film couldn't get in Katniss's head like the novel could, but I still her feelings on the death of Thresh, her growing hatred of the Capitol, and her festering feelings of rebellion could have been shown. I believe they were central to the story.

What I'm 'On The Fence' About:

Katniss. I think Jennifer Lawrence did a good job in the role, I just feel that the scriptwriters didn't develop her character as well as they could have. I still don't know how I feel...maybe I should give the movie another watch.

Overall Thoughts

I liked how the movie tried to stay true to the book, but I felt so much of what made the book amazing was missing in the film. The relationships and characters felt too underdeveloped. If I had seen the movie without reading the books, I feel I would have liked it less. But I still think they did okay with the time they had, since the movie was pretty long, but it just was't for me. Have you seen the film yet? What do you guys think? Did you love it? Hate it? Anything you're looking forward to seeing in the future films? Feel free to share your thoughts.