Second Opinion: Book to Movie Review: The Hunger Games

So, I finally got to go see The Hunger Games!  It was quite an experience for me.  I was in a real tizzy because I was running late on my way to the theater.  I did not want to miss the previews---I was looking forward to them just as much as the movie!  I simply had to see the previews for The Host and Breaking Dawn: Part 2.  

Sheldon in his "spot"

After speeding the entire way to the theater, and being so stressed about missing the previews that I got heartburn, I arrived at the theater only to find that someone was in my spot!  (Cue Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory).  If you know me at all, you know that I have to sit in the middle of the very back row when I go to the movies.  I cannot tolerate anyone sitting behind me, crunching their popcorn.  Why do people have to chew popcorn so loudly?  And I hate sitting too close to the edge because all I can see are the running lights on the stairs.  Can you tell I have problems when I go to see movies?  This is why I never go to the movies!  I am just too picky.  

Anyway, two people were in my spot, and since my rules of personal space dictate that I cannot sit closer than four seats away from strangers, I had to make a choice.  Sit on the back row close to the edge---gasp!---or sit in the middle of the theater not on the back row.  I cannot even begin to tell you how I agonized over this choice.  I am sick, people, sick!  I started off on the edge of the back row.  All the way through the previews, I found myself casting ugly looks towards the two women in my spot.  (They were totally oblivious as the theater was dark by then).  I stayed in that spot for the first part of the movie.  After the Reaping, I moved to the middle of the theater (this was a timed move, to make sure no one came in late and sat too close to my final seating destination).  And the move was positive: I found the shooting of the film to be so jumpy that sitting in the middle of the theater gave me a better viewing experience than sitting closer to the edge.

I still love Gale!

After I overcame my seating issues---this is why I do better going to the movies alone---I was able to enjoy the film.  Overall, I thought it was a really great film.  I loved the acting and thought the casting was perfect.  I was not sure about Josh Hutcherson as Peeta but ending up thinking he made a great Peeta.  I am still Team Gale---is it just me or did they downplay they Gale scenes?---but am slightly more open to the idea of Peeta and Katniss together now that I've seen the movie.

As with any book to movie adaptation, I missed the parts that were cut from the book.  The bit about the Mockingjay pin bothered me, I wanted to see more of Katniss's life before the Reaping, and I wanted to see the victory tour after the Games.  I also, like Natalie, wanted to see Katniss break Peeta's heart at the end of the movie, like she does in the book.  Oh, burn, Peeta, burn!  I have a feeling these movies are going to be very pro-Peeta.  And I'll just have to learn to live with that.  

I loved the special effects as well as the costume design.  Those two elements really made the movie for me.  I also loved getting to see the Games through the Gamemaker's perspective.  I enjoyed seeing them manipulating the environment, and thought it added another layer of depth to the movie.  

Overall, I enjoyed The Hunger Games.  I can't say that it will be a movie that I buy and watch over and over again, like, say, Twilight or any of my Jane Austen films, but it was very well done and I will definitely keep watching the series.