When I saw The Hunger Games in March, I really enjoyed the film and began to think it was possibly better than the book. Many people feel the book was better, but I have three reasons that I feel will back up my statement.
1. The added scenes
I thought the added scenes of the games control room, President Snow’s rose garden, District 11 during the uprising, and Gale during the games really filled in a part of the story that wasn’t there within the book. Those scenes allowed us to see a deeper world beyond Katniss’ mind. Those scenes also had a powerful impact on the story, like the uprising after Rue’s death, or showing a hint of Gale being jealous after Katniss kisses Peeta.
2. Seeing it all on screen
Sure, the book and film have a lot of the same content, but I felt that seeing iconic scenes like the countdown had a greater impact. You can read scenes and imagine them, but when they are shown to you, they often have a different impact on you. The countdown scene in the book made me somewhat nervous, but in the film I was extremely nervous for what was about to be shown. And the cornucopia scene was also different from how I imagined it – I imagined a really rushed fast blink and you’ll miss it scene, but in the film, while it was rushed. It lasted longer and was more intense than I anticipated, which made me hate the Capitol even more.
3. The cast
Jenifer Lawrence was truly spectacular and gave an amazing performance as Katniss Everdeen. Josh Hutcherson was certainly at the best we’ve ever seen him. Woody Harrelson was a great Haymitch and Elizabeth Banks played Eiffie even more effectively than her book counterpart. Even 12 year old Willow Shields was great in this film as Prim. Stanley Tucci was exactly how I imagined Caesar Flickerman and Buttercup the cat was incredible. The cast was so great and made the film feel even more powerful.
It is important to remember that these are simply my opinions and you don’t necessarily have to agree with my opinion. You might say, “Oh they cut out this and that, and the shaky camera, and it wasn’t violent enough!”, but instead of dwelling on the negatives, try to look at the film’s positives. The Hunger Games had a great cast, had some amazing scenes added, and was just an overall great movie!
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