A review of 'The Hunger Games'

by Heaven Lorenz

“The Hunger Games” opened in theaters March 23. It made over $153 million just from its opening weekend, and that number is still growing. We, freshman of Montezuma, read the book as a class just weeks before the date above.

The story is about what was left of America after it haa fallen. When the districts tried to rise against the Capitol, who controls them, they lost. As punishment and to show their control, the Capitol forces the twelve districts to give up two children from the ages of twelve to eighteen to fight in an arena to the death. 

After talking to some of the students who went to see the movie, I’ve come up with a simple understanding of how well we all liked it. 

Some read the book and compared the two together constantly.  These people could see major differences in the movie, and many were disappointed. Suzanne Collins herself wrote the movie’s screenplay, so I don’t have much room to complain, but it seems that some of those alterations still linger in the mind. 

Then there are the ones who looked at the movie and the book as two completely different items who enjoyed seeing it.

There were some bright moments in the film. Even I will admit that Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as Katniss was completely breathtaking. She was able to take the script that was written so differently from the book and still pull the same emotions from it that was given as you read.

 Since the book was written from Katniss’s point of view, we didn’t get to see anything she didn’t. We will never fully know what really happens in the book outside of Katniss’ view point, but in the movie it shows them setting up the arena over an impressive computer that is controlled by many people. 

The climax of the book is when the mutations are set loose. In the movie, this is the one part that does not disappoint. The wolves aren’t anything like what they are in the book, but they still are really impressive. They were created to strike fear and they were successful. 

The movie somewhat follows the book, but given the fact that they let Peeta have both his legs, the fact that Haymitch was missing from the Reaping, the mayor’s family being cut out completely and that Cato never was at the feast trying to bring Clove back from the dead still clings to my brain and bugs me. A lot. 

Even though there are alterations, I know I’m going to watch the sequel when it premieres. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not for the movie but for the books.