Oh yes — the world is watching.
Whether you went to a midnight screening (there were SEVEN at my theater), or — like me — a Friday morning show, or if you have plans to go later this weekend, or even next week, I thought it would be fun to have a little movie discussion right here in the comments, because I have a feeling we are going to want to talk about it!
I might write up an official review, but I probably won’t. If you do have questions about something content-wise, if you leave me a comment on the interview with the producer Nina Jacobson, I’ll answer it there (or email you).
If you haven’t seen the movie, I’d recommend you stay away from the comments. It’s a place where we can share our thoughts. Anything is fair game.
Some suggestions:
- What were your overall impressions — as a movie and as a book adaptation?
- What was your favorite moment?
- Was there something that disappointed you — either from an adaptation standpoint, or something that was unsettling to see?
- Which character did you like best? Was this different from the book?
I’m hoping we’ll be able to have a real conversation in the comments. If you use the reply button on the comment to which you are replying, we can keep the thread somewhat orderly.
If you have a question about something, you could ask it and people can answer right within the thread.
I predicted that as an experience, I might actually like it more than the book, but we’ll see if that’s actually true.
i was greatly dissappointed that the movie did not go farther into the cave seen with peeta or really katniss’s relationship with peeta at all. Katniss spends a lot of time debating how she feels for peeta and thinking back to Gale and i feel that it was almost entirely left out, there was so much more that went on between them than what was shown in the movie
I agree — I don’t think that people would have known about the love triangle really. You don’t know much about Gale’s feelings.
I agree. There is no “love story” here, or triangle, or anything, really. No romantic tension, squat. I was disappointed by that, too.
I have not read the book, but did get some of the tension between the three. I kept wondering if the josh h character was sincere. Looking forward to reading the books now.
I’m glad you got that Catherine! It’s definitely developed more in the Catching Fire book, and I think that the uncertainty about what was going on was a big part of it as well — so you’re very perceptive!
I was extremely impressed. Moved to tears many times. Yes, they left many things out and changed some things around, but I expected that. I think that the characters were very well cast and did a fabulous job. I wish there had been a little more relationship development between Katniss and Peeta, and I would have liked more Gale in the movie, but really…it was 2 1/2 hours long. A movie just can’t go as deep as a book. It wasn’t perfect but I loved it anyway.
I was a little uptight at first, but I made myself relax. Once the games started I just started developing. I agree about Gale and Peete completely.
I shared my thoughts below 🙂
Okay–many thoughts here. Overall good impression, but seriously could they not have eaten some LAMB STEW??? Really.
Also–I need to go back and look at my book, but didn’t Gale say that stuff that they had Peeta say about not wanting them to “own” him? Gale’s the revolutionary — they totally could have done that, because it still motivated Katniss.
My favorite non-book scene was District 11 after Rue’s death — very powerful.
I LOVE Haymitch — Woody Harrelson was awesome.
Peeta sort of came off as a dolt. Not sure I loved him.
My husband was more upset by some things added or left out than me because he read the books more recently. His least favorite change was the mutts at the end. He liked the “real” ending in the book much better. Me? I read them a few dozen books ago so the passion and the memories about the details have somewhat faded. I think that helped. lol
I agree. I chose to re-read last week, and I’m glad I did, but it did make everything a little sharper. I think that the mutts will be a big disappointment to most people, because the book was so shocking and incredible.
No, it was Peeta that said those things. Also, I liked/disliked Haymitch in the movie. They got the look down pat, and I liked the scenes of him working to get them sponsors. But I missed the change from a drunkard to a mentor. I liked how, in the book, Katniss realizes that part of the reason for his drunkenness is sorrow of watching kids die, year after year. I missed that.
Elizabeth–yes, I did go back and look and I saw that it was Peeta who said it.
The change in Haymitch was more subtle on screen, but they did show him pushing away the alcohol once he was helping them, and remember when the Capital parents were giving the kids the HG toys? It was a very very small and short scene, but they showed Haymitch being pained by it.
Those are things that you wouldn’t notice if you hadn’t read the book, but knowing the book makes it come through on screen.
I think (especially for people who had not read the book) the change with the mutts at the end was a wise choice. Most people are already stretching their comfort zone to see THIS much child-on-child violence in a movie, to have genetically mutated “monsters” that also have features and characteristics of the dead Tributes? I think that would have been too over-the-top for too many people. And, personally, I really didn’t like that part of the book. I was glad to see it changed.
That’s a good point, Stacey. It also would have required some sort of dialogue — like Katniss and Peeta noticing it (unlike us just knowing her thoughts in the book) — and that was not a scene for talking.
Plus, I’m not sure I even remembered what most of them looked like.
I agree. It’s creepy and violent in the book, but represented on screen would have been like a horror movie. Too much. They get the point across – that these are no regular animals, but created ones – by showing the control room scene.
No, the movie was right – it was Peeta that said that. The movie got the location right, too – he said it to Katniss on the roof of the training center.
I understand how Peeta came off a little too frumpy for some people. But even in the books I always thought of Peeta as on open book, heart on his sleeve, genuine, almost innocent kind of person. Which is in stark contrast to both Gale and Katniss, but why he and Katniss work so well together (they are more balanced).
(Edited by Jennifer — per Stacey’s correction below)
Woops – I meant “Gale and Katniss” when talking about how different Peeta was. Sorry for the confusion!
I edited your comment above so it would be clear–per your comment 🙂
Yeah–I went back and looked and saw that I was wrong.
But the food thing was totally wrong. They were around the food enough. They could have added that in. And that’s how Katniss first connected with the audience, telling them she liked it. I get that they were all offput and nervous about the Games, and that came across, but these were people who were starving and they LOVED the food, and wisely tried to bulk up before the Games. That was a big part of their amazement at the Capital.
But all in all — good stuff.
I would give the movie, overall, a B. They did some things very right. I thought they got the look down well; pretty much everyone and everything looked right to me. I liked the addition of the Gamemakers a LOT. But I felt that, as always when a good book gets made into a movie, so many important nuances were lost. I loved the character of Katniss in the book; her toughness and vulnerability, how she has no idea of how others view her and how she can’t really believe that Peeta likes her because she’s been so focused on caring for her family she hasn’t really seen anything else. I didn’t see that as much in the movie.
Also, I thought they messed up the pivotal scene where Peeta gives Katniss the bread. If you hadn’t read the book, I think you would miss his intentional kindness.
One more complaint: the jumpy handheld feeling of the filming. It doesn’t always work.
My kids loved the movie.
I was wondering what your kids thought. I think Amanda will like it, but we’ll see.
I agree that the bread scene wasn’t nearly as important as in the book. The relationships in general were very watered down. It will be interesting to see what they do with the 2nd movie.
I took my 12 year old boy and very mature 9 year old girl to see it, with much trepidation. I had a serious talk with my daughter about the subject and felt I prepared her for it. None of us had read the books, but I knew the worst of it. I must say they did an excellent job de-emphasizing the violence–there was plenty of it but I got the feeling there was much more to be had–without diminishing the awfulness of it. As I was watching I actually said to my husband, this is the best movie I’ve seen in a while. I never felt that way watching the Harry Potter movies after having read the books. I think the movie stands alone very well. And my kids absolutely loved it, and I think understood the overall danger of that sort of society.
Just back from seeing it with lots of teen girls, who were all swooning over Peeta, by the way.
I was impressed with the acting and the creative filming. But I thought Peeta was miscast. He was like a little brother more than a love interest. Maybe he’ll grow a few inches before the next movie?
I also missed the sense of life in the Seam. I understand the book needs to change to fit into one movie but I agree with the other comments that the relationships between Katniss and pretty much everyone were not well developed. LOVED Stanley Tucci.
You and your short complex! It’s funny, because when I saw him, he didn’t seem like Peeta, but when I was rereading with him in mind, he did fit the bill — blonde and barrel-chested. Amanda is Team Peeta in life, but I don’t know if she’ll like movie Peeta.
I agree. Liked Tucci as well.
Tucci was AWESOME. I am Team Tucci now 😉
Me too! My husband asked who my favorite character was. I started to say katniss bc she’s such an amazing role model, but on reflection I had to say tucci’s character. I enjoyed every scene he was in and laughed out loud several times at his facial expressions.
I will not publicly admit to the amount of time I spent today writing a blog post about this movie, but let’s just say I have no energy left to talk right now. I’ll have to return to this post in coming days to read all the comments, because from my initial skimming, it seems as if you all have lots to say, too!!
I loved the books! I read all three in 5 days and had to read the first book again before the movie came out. I was nervous but excited for the movie. I was kind of skeptical of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson playing Katniss and Peeta. 5 minutes after meeting them, I was sold. I loved the emotions they brought to the characters.
I had a lot of favorite moments…in the book the Reaping scene was really emotional of course but it didn’t hit me until I saw it happening. Katniss and Rue was another emotional scene.
I wasn’t too disappointed with the movie at all. I understood why they had to cut things and I’m glad because they were able to add so much more in. I loved seeing the scenes with the Gamemakers and the reactions of the Districts.
Peeta was my favorite character in the book and it didn’t change after seeing the movie!
My daughter LOVES Peeta, and she’s seeing it tomorrow, so I can’t wait to hear her thoughts on him. I was always sort of undecided, but I think I really warmed to him in Catching Fire, which I’m re-reading now.
I watched a midnight premiere with my teenage daughter and her boyfriend. She and I have read the books while the boyfriend hasn’t. I think the movie stayed pretty true to the book even if relationships weren’t as developed in the movie as they were in the book. Haymitch was my favorite.
Alex, the boyfriend, liked the movie but had many questions. He didn’t understand why some things were happening and why people acted like they did. I think someone who hasn’t read the book would be very confused by a lot of what was going on.
Yeah, I think that those who haven’t read the book can definitely enjoy the movie, but there are things that they aren’t going to “get.” Hopefully they’ll want to go read the books!
I was unexpectedly moved in a totally different direction while watching the movie. If you’re open to a thought provoking viewpoint, read my blog post http://unconventionallibrarian.com/2012/03/25/hunger-games-ethnicity-spoilers/
otherwise? it was a WIN!
I’m beginning to feel like you really just have to take the book and movie together as a set. Though I think the book did a better job at expressing Katniss’ feelings (hello, it was from her point of view) the movie does a great job of bringing things to life like the Capitol and how the Games are controlled. Some things are hard to picture when you just read the book. One thing I particularly liked was seeing what the parachutes looked like because I honestly could not get a good idea of them when I read the book. (But then I hated that we never got to see the bodies lifted up like is described in the book.) I loved the Reaping scene in the movie because it was so much more emotional than I felt the book was (mainly because the sounds of screaming and crying make my heart hurt). But I hated that Gale’s part seemed so minuscule in the movie. My sister even made a comment when Katniss kisses Peeta and Gale is watching: “Why isn’t he getting angry?” I left the theater feeling unsure. Parts I loved and parts I thought could have been much better.
Yes — I agree (different Jennifer — I’m not talking to myself here!!). I think that they go well together — as a complement.
I was extremely impressed with the movie. It exceeded any expectations I had. I understood most of the changes they made. I think a lot of them were for the people who may not have read the books.
One thing they skipped that disappointed me was Haymitch falling off the stage. It was such a huge scene and was televised all through Panem. It had me laughing out loud when I read it, so I was disappointed that they skipped it.
I did think about that. They really downplayed Haymitch’s drunkenness throughout. I guess because they couldn’t spend much time on it, they didn’t want it to be all for laughs — because his drinking came from such a place of despair.
I LOVED the movie. Loved it. I reread the book this week – and just the one book – so that I could be prepared for all that was left out. I noticed a lot, but missed very little of it. Mostly because we got so much more to replace it with the President Snow bits and the views of the Capitol and the game makers control room. Some of those things were able to stand in for the things we missed. Like the District 11 bread coming to Katniss would have needed some explanation, but we got to see their appreciation by being able to see the District 11 reaction in the movie. Much better choice for considering the POV we had in the movie vs. the book.
So much of the issues, problems, and even kudos for the movie comes from changing the POV from first person to omniscient. We can’t see so much of Katniss’s internal struggles. But the film did a good job of conveying a real emotional tone that I got more from the movie than the book.
Honestly, I think they work best as complementary to each other. Assume that everyone has read the book or will read the book and it’s all good. For everyone who just watches the movie, and is never inspired to read the book – well, they probably weren’t going to be moved by the finer points of Katniss’s internal struggles anyway.
I came down in the same place you did — the fact that they work well together. Both tell the story in a different way.
The fact that I’m REALLY looking forward to the next movie proves that I’m not too caught up.
I know the whole “3 versus 4” movie dilemma has come up, and since I’m re-reading CF now, I think that they should split it. Take the first half of the readjustment to home and the victory tour, and then the Quarter Quell as the 3rd. That way they could focus more on Gale and Peeta and Katniss and their relationships, as well as the uprising. Who knows?
I felt that with all the hype surrounding the film that it had to be great to be good. Well, it was good, just not great. Loved the energy at the screening I went to, sensing the awe at finally seeing this movie, all these intimate and personally percieved characters come to life. “Amazing!” and “Awesome!” were the comments I heard, fueled by excitement. Good. At least there was not disappointment, and hats off to Lionsgate for not messing it up. They would have been lynched if they had gotten it wrong or produced a real turkey.
So what was missing? The profundity of the book, the depth of the social commentary. It told the story well, created most of what we espected, but Katniss wasn’t terrfif, Peeta was ok but hardly on screen much, Haymitch was good, Tucci was best, Sutherland finely menacing, Panem as whacky as expected.
A serious problem for me was the inane use of hand-held cameras, a cop-out way to show busyness or to gloss over the fights or to leave impressions rather than show specifics. Nauseating in IMAX especially. So I hope Catching Fire will be better.
My daughter should have been at your screening! She went Sunday, and one of her friends had been Friday night already. My daughter wanted to cheer (like the scene between Thresh and Katniss) and her more reserved friends — and the lack of response in the audience — held her back. Her friend said she should have gone Friday night, because there was LOTS of reaction.
I also saw it in IMAX, and the camera work was a bit much for this old gal.
Well, team Peeta or team Gale? I gotta say, I like them both. Again, haven’t read the books, but from the comments I can tell the tension lasts through all three. I like Josh H a lot. He’s got such expressive eyes. :-0. But I also liked what little I saw of Gale. Hard to tell what’s going on in Katniss’s heart.