Lots of Rants about Lots of Fandoms.

Hunger Games books vs. movies

Spoilers for The Hunger Games

I've only seen the first Hunger Games movie, so that's what I'm basing this off.

Okay, for starters, I've never seen a movie that was based off a book and thought it was better.  So I might be slightly biased.  But I thought the first HG movie left so much out.  

1.  They somehow made me really dislike Gale even in the 5 or so minutes of screen-time he gets, which has got to be some kind of record.  I liked Gale a lot in the the books (or at least in the first one, before he starts randomly trying to kiss Katniss!) but in the movies, they just really made him unlikeable, and I'm not even sure what it was about him that rubbed me the wrong way.

2.  The whole movie felt really rushed.  We hardly have any sense Katniss and Prim's relationship, which is the driving point of pretty much the whole series.  (I will admit, Prim is kind of a plot device in the books too, but even more in the movies).  

3.  Rue hardly got ANY screen-time.  Like, I'm complaining about Gale not being on enough - they did Rue SO dirty!  She was my favorite character in the first book, and I think my favorite line in the entire series is "I'm very hard to catch, and if they can't catch me, they can't kill me, so don't count me out!"  And the movie didn't include that!!  They just have a tiny clip of her interview where she's like, "I'm good at climbing trees." which is giving away her strategy for all the other tributes to hear!  Also, there is barely any time of her and Katniss getting to know each other in the arena before she dies, and that ticks me off too.  Her death scene was beautiful, and tragic, and everything it's supposed to be, but I think someone who hasn't read the books wouldn't really care as much, because she got like two lines, and that was teasing Katniss about Peeta. 

4.  Katniss bought the mockingjay pin instead of Madge giving it to her.  Firstly, her family is starving, and she's spending her illegal hunting money on jewelry!?  Seriously, Katniss!?  Also, I really liked Madge as a side character and they cut her out completely!  Sad.  

5.  The beasts at the end didn't look like the tributes!  That scene in the books gave me nightmares.  Rues death might have been the saddest part, but the dead-tribute-dog-things brought me the closest to tears.  It's terrifying!  And the movie dogs were so under-whelming.  They didn't scare me at all.  Also the way it shows the gamemakers basically just conjuring them up, is weird.  Like, they shouldn't be able to create things on the spot, I thought it was all pre-planned. 

6.  Peeta and Katniss didn't kiss enough.  I don't really like this ship, but in the books, the whole time they're in the arena together, they are totally playing up their romance, a TON.  I the movie they kiss once, and it looks real.  Like, they're supposed to look like they're acting.  

So yeah.  I really don't think the movie did the books justice, but two things I did like was the little rebellion that we got see happen when Rue died, and they made Clove awesome.  I wish that girl had played Katniss; I heard she auditioned for it but they said she was too young.  I personally think she would have done a better job.