For those who are, somehow, not aware of the basic plot of the Hunger Games I will summarize it. The basic plot,though not completely original since something very similar to it can be seen in the Japanese novel and film Battle Royale which was published in English during February of 2003, is that the government, which has somewhat totalitarian themes to it, will take twenty-four children from the twelve districts that create the country known as Panem and have them battle to the death until only one remains standing. This is to keep the districts in check, though in reality they are planting the seeds for rebellion, and seek retribution for past action of the districts trying to overthrow the government. Though, this act has been occurring in Panem for seventy-five years no one really did any display of rebellion that struck a string with the country and inspire them to stand up for their rights, though inadvertently, until Katniss Everdeen, our female protagonist, volunteered in the place of her sister Prim and shows within the arena that kindness can be shown in the darkest of times.
In the novel, it is in the first person narrative, so, we only hear and see what Katniss does which as always is the main difference in these films seeing as we are now able to view events that take place elsewhere bringing the viewer a little more insight to the events outside of the arena in this instance. Though, some might have been a little miffed by these additions, I believe, some actually added more depth and emotion to the story then what took place in the book. We are now able to see Haymitch Abernathy, District 12’s mentor, and Seneca Crane, GamesMaster, along with President Snow as the games go on and their reaction to every large event that occurs in the arena. We are able to see how the Game Makers actually control the games and put obstacles in tributes way which is actually an interesting sight. Though, some things seemed pointless such as the occasional glimpse of Gale Hawthorne, Katniss’ best friend, which seemed odd to me since he does not really play much of a part in the book series until the second book Catching Fire. If they were going to show anybody in District 12 during the games why not Katniss’ sister or maybe even her mother who is prone to becoming unhinged, near catatonic in times of intense stress. I get that they might be trying to model after the “teams” thing that occurred with the Twilight Saga, but I do not believe this is the kind of series where such a thing should take place since even Katniss does not place much value in a romantic relationship for a long time. They pay more attention to President Snow, our antagonist through most of the series, in the movie than they did in the novel which is an improvement since Snow does not really appear in the Hunger Games book until after Katniss wins the games.Once again things had to be changed to add to the overall flow of the story. Characters became more and less important in the movie than in the novel such as Cato, District 2’s male tribute, and Cinna, Katniss’ stylist, which makes sense if you think about it as solely one book and movie, but, it’s a series. Cinna seems to be a large part of Katniss’ motivation as the series progresses and was a confidant of hers which is why his role should not have been as played down as it was, though, I think this was just because they were trying to progress to the actual games and just gloss over the time spent in the Capitol. It seems as if they paid a little too much attention to the character of Cato at some points such as in the Capitol during training since Katniss really did not seem to pay much attention to him in the books until it obvious that he was her main obstacle if she wanted to return home. Seneca and Snow were covered just enough while Haymitch was covered too little but they only had two and a half hours to cover a variety of characters, so, some would fall through the cracks.
There were also some major change of events in the movie. The Mockingjay pin that is the symbol of the rebellion in the novels was given to Katniss by her kind of friend Madge Undersee and the pin originally belonged to Madge’s aunt, Maysilee Donner, who was a District 12 Tribute in the 50th Quarter Quell, so, it already had a history within the games. This is changed in the movie where Katniss simply finds it in the Hob, District 12’s black market, while, presumably, trading game. In the novel, Katniss and Gale encounter a runaway girl in the woods prior to the events taking place. The girl was captured and taken to the Capitol where her tongue was cut out and she was forced to act as a servant to the people of the Capitol and later Katniss herself. This cruelty of the Capitol and allowed a way to show Katniss more sympathetic and remorseful side because really we did not see much of that side in the Hunger Games. But, they were pressed for time and did not have a chance to explore this in the film which is understandable since it was not a truly necessary part of the novel. Though, not all the changes were bad and some actually seemed better, though, not all would share this sentiment. My favorite change out of all of them that I feel bettered the movie was District 11’s revolt after the death of their female tribute, Rue, since in the book we saw no real hints of rebellion until its sequel, in my opinion, the scene was a great addition it showed that they were tired seeing their children die and were ready to do something to change the world that they live in for the better which is very different from the book where they just sent Katniss some bread as a thanks for the kindness she showed Rue. Some people might not like this scene since they had to cut short the lullaby sung to Rue as she was dying to fit it in. But, like with any movie adaptation the changes will both please and displease fans.
There are changes to visuals both major and minor. The Cornucopia is really too small in stature than what the book described, in the book it is described as a large golden horn shaped like a cone with a curved tail with a while in the movie it looks simply like a steel tent. In the novel, the creatures that chase Cato, Katniss and Peeta near the end of the games are wolves with the features of the fallen tributes such as their eyes and hair color while in the film they simply look like large pitbulls and have no variation in their features.
The movie is easy for someone who has read none of the books to follow which is definitely one of the goals they were trying to accomplish with this film, but it is still likely to satisfy fans, though, still not a complete wish fulfillment that some might have been hoping for. Though, it can be easily misleading on the amount of violence that is going to be in the film since the basis of it is a mass slaughter, so, no one should go in expecting a gore fest because filmmakers want to hold on to that precious PG-13 rating that seems to be their cash cow with these high profile young adult projects. The death of really glossed over and there is little to no blood to be seen even when someone has a spear piercing their abdomen. The most violent deaths we will see is a boy getting his neck snap and a girl getting her head bashed in, both happen too quickly and are quickly carted off screen. There is really no emotion invoked from the deaths since, in my opinion, they were just too fake looking when we know they could have done a very realistic portrayal of death which would seem more fit in some way. Still a good movie, but not enough violence for the subject covered.
