The Hunger Games: Book vs Movie

Have lost your self in the The Hunger Games hype last year?
Well I have, and I didn't even know there were going to be movies! One of my friends recommended it for me, than a year later I found her mail mentioning the books and picked up the first one, on the third day I was climbing walls, eager and sad to finish the third one.

When people heard I've read the books, almost all of them asked how were them and if they had to read the books before seeing the movie. Well...

You can look at it this way, the book and movie are in the same universe but somehow an alternative version. It's almost like the book is the original and the movie is a fan-fiction of it. Because as well as changing some of the most crucial parts of the story, they also cross combine stories from the other books. For example (SPOILER) since we only see Panem through Katniss' eyes, we never see and know anything that Katniss doesn't, so Presidents talks with the Game Maker, the mutiny starting in District 11 after Rue's death.We don't learn about the mutinies until the end of Catching Fire. So that changes how you perceive things. (END of SPOILER)

You can look at it this way, the books are very well written, Suzanne Collins make you get lost in the pages so easily and the plot is excellent. You understand how the world got to its current point, the reasons for the The Hunger Games and why everybody is sending their children without question to die. That's all in the book, in the movie those parts are mentioned only in the introduction in the very beginning and even knowing the plot, I was confused with the brief information they gave.

And if you watch the movies without the books, I'm sure you'll enjoy them very much. It doesn't have the superficial Hollywood, filtered-camera feel to it. It's on the verge of being an independent movie. When some time had passed after I read the books, I watched it again and had a great time. However if you watch them with the expectation of it being loyal to the books, then you are in for disappointment. I wish I would have known it would be different than the book because throughout the movie all I did was wait for my favorite parts of the book and when they didn't deliver I was left high and dry.

So be prepared I you liked the movie and picked up the books, the second movie may not live up to your expectations but that does not mean it'll be bad.

****** SPOILERS *****

The Hunger Games (2012) - As for the interpretation of the general plot of the book, I think I envisioned Katniss and Gale's relationship as more of a genuinely close friends than the obvious affection they both have toward each other  I think they are just preparing for a love triangle in the squeal, between Katniss, Peeta and Gale  However in the book Gale has unresolved attraction towards Katniss, Peeta is plain in love with her and have been since very little, but he keeps away from her as it turned out that she was not interested in him during The Games, only obeying Haymitch's orders to get sponsors. All through this, Katniss stays indifferent to anyone but is effected deeply that she lost her friendship with Gale  Now that, as the champions they live in luxury when their District is suffering with poverty and hunger.
Even though I am such a sucker for romance and liked the scenes between Katniss and Peeta during The Games Season (Team Peeta all the way.) I'd liked that Katniss is the only one who does not concern her self with romance. She doesn't even admit her love for Peeta until the very last page of the third book.
As for the actual Games, I was imagining something different, yes a controlled environment but not exactly as in the movie. The hardship of The Games wasn't shown that good in the movie, in the book I was thirsty as Katniss got thirsty and hurting when she was hurt many times. For those who doesn't remember Peeta's leg and Katniss' ear injuries are so severe that they had to be surgically altered; Peeta has a prosthetic leg that limits his movement and mentioned very much in the second book, I guess they didn't see things through there.

Another big alteration they did and bummed me real hard was the death of Cinna, played by Lenny Kravitz. I think he was absolutely great for the part but they killed him. Katniss is supposed to keep in touch with Cinna as he help Katniss become the Mockingjay icon with his designs. If I had to choose one thing, that would be Cinna's death that I was angry about the movie. And he was one of my favorite characters too.

***** END of SPOILERS *****

The cast for the movie is very rich:  Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne), Woody Harrelson (Haymitch Abernathy), Lenny Kravitz (Cinna), Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket), Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman), Donald Sutherland (The President).. But I'm afraid they are going to add more parts in the movies, that are only in for the actors. As Donald Sutherland's President is almost non-existent in the first book and, Stanley Tucci's character was just put to help along with the plot where, Katniss thinks something in the book, Tucci speaks in the movie. However with all the interviews I watched or came across magazines the lead actors interaction with each other is hilarious! If you're not a fan of Jeennifer Lawrence, I bet she can change you mind after an interview or two, she is just so natural and herself that I can't help but have a girly crush on her.

On a fun and exciting note, look at the real life height difference between the actors and how they are portrayed in the movie.. Also all three of them have the opposite hair color in the movie. It's good to see that they go the extra mile on some things, at least.

I'll be back with news and plot ideas from Hunger Games: Catching Fire as the set images are just being released for the hype to begin for the movie's November screening.