This opinion piece was written by a Hypable user!

By now we’ve had a few days to digest The Hunger Games movie. We have chosen our favorite and not-so-favorite parts. We have realized what was perfectly adapted from the books (a solid 80-90% in my opinion), and what was lacking (the mutts looked more like panthers than big wolves).

While my friends and I eagerly discussed the movie hours after we saw it, I wondered: can Lionsgate make another true adaptation for Catching Fire? Director Gary Ross and Catching Fire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy certainly seem up to the task. The first draft of the script was completed days before The Hunger Games premiered, and Beaufoy has said he is working closely with the author of the trilogy, Suzanne Collins.

My concern stems from now knowing what a fantastic movie Gary Ross, Jennifer Lawrence, and the incredible cast and crew can make. Will The Hunger Games be the best movie of the series? With both the Harry Potter and Twilight series, there are well-crafted installments and some that miss the mark. Granted, with a massive eight-movie series, Harry Potter had the toughest job staying true to the books, thus making those movies the most different from the books.

The Hunger Games script was so well-adapted from the books, there seemed little for massive fans to complain about. It probably helps that the screenplay was primarily written by Collins herself, who is well-versed in the screenwriting scene.

There are many reasons why Catching Fire could underperform to our expectations. One pitfall could come from the script and the intricate storytelling that is required. Catching Fire is less straightforward than The Hunger Games. It’s not simply establishing the hardships of District 12, the reaping, the training, then the Games; it’s the victory tour, the uprisings in the various districts, the massive soirée thrown in the Captiol, and the introduction of many characters they have to quickly establish as a precursor to Mockingjay. It’s the clues dribbled throughout the story that makes Katniss begin to question everything she knows: the existence of District 13, President Snow’s demands of her, and his cruel promises to hurt her family if she doesn’t comply.

There is room for improvement – the shaky cam might’ve been used too liberally and had me feeling motion sick at times, and people have claimed the pacing felt odd; but the point is, with such a massive hit on Lionsgate’s hands, the pressure is on to make Catching Fire and Mockingjay surpass our high expectations.