I vaguely remember watching the movie back in university, but I could not even tell you why I didn’t go back to it. Anyway, here we are.

“In what was once North America, the Capitol of Panem maintains its hold on its 12 districts by forcing them each to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Every citizen must watch as the youths fight to the death until only one remains. District 12 Tribute Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has little to rely on, other than her hunting skills and sharp instincts, in an arena where she must weigh survival against love.”

Here is my review if you have never read the book. some parts will make less sense, but there are some good action scenes. Also, the actors are amazing.  I would recommend that you should watch the movie and then read the book. After all, if you do it in the other order, you will see the holes where the script had to be cut for time.

For those who have read the book, I have 5 thoughts.

Firstly, I would like to talk about this reaping scene. This is interesting for two different reasons. Firstly, the way that District 12 looks bleached of its colour which makes Effie Trinket stick out and look almost inhuman. Secondly how the reaping of the Hunger Games is portrayed. This starts with the utter silence of the would-be tributes. Its even more striking when that silence was broken by Prim being scared of the Peacekeeper taking a blood sample to prove attendance and then Katniss’ desperate scream when her sister is selected as a tribute. It seems to drag the viewer into her desperation.

Secondly, I would like to talk about casting. Mainly the fact that none of the actors, for our three main teenagers, look like teenagers. I have seen a post online showing what those actors Katniss, Peeta and Gale were; those actors were the age of the characters. (Also sorry to whoever posted it, I’m playing this from memory so cannot credit you.) Like Gale in the movie looks like he is in his 20s. How much harder would it have been if every one of the tributes were children? I understand why they didn’t go down that road, both because, as I just said, it would have hit much harder if you were forced to remember that these are children and more than just Rue’s death would be a tragedy. The other reason why they made this choice for their casting choose and is a more practical fact that there are more rules for child actors than for adults.

Thirdly, the looks in the Capital. In the books, the people in the Capital look crazy. They have skin dyed whatever color is fashionable as well as plastic surgeries that make people look unreal, but in the movie, they just have more colour in there and that’s it. This is a problem because in the book the Capital citizens look almost nonhuman.

Fourthly, I enjoy what they do when you are not in someone’s POV. Firstly, the fact that we see Cesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith, they are commenting on the Hunger Games. It gives us some exposition that we may not have gotten otherwise. This also adds to the comparisons between The Hunger Games and TV shows of our modern times. Secondly, the fact that we see the game makers planning things in real time. In the book, we have Katniss theorizing about what the game is planning so it is interesting to see the truth of this. Thirdly, Seneca Crane. In the book, we never see this man for even one page. We only hear about him in the second book, along with the fact that he is now dead. In the movie, we meet him before we even meet Katniss and I find it interesting that his death in the movie is by nightlock berries.

Fifthly, I find it exceedingly weird how President Snow sees Katniss as a threat from the first minute of seeing her. I wonder if this is just so they could give him more screen time. And I know that after reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes that he could be seeing a comparison between Katniss Everdeen and Lucy Grey Bard. But as I don’t know when Susan Collins had considered writing that book, so I don’t think this counts.

Thank you, dear readers, for sticking with me and until next week.

Happy reading to all and to all a good night.