Some months ago I heard about the movie The Hunger Games (2012). The concept reminded me of Battle Royale (2000) that I liked very much as well.
When it was available in the movie theatres, many people I know told me they really liked the movie. This made me want to see it even more. I found out however that this movie was based on a book series and that this was only the first part of the trilogy. This was a bit disappointing since I personally do not like having to wait a long time to know the complete story.
So instead of watching the movie, I started reading the books and ended up reading all three books in less than a week. I really loved it because it provided a lot more depth than I initially expected and I was also able to really connect with the characters and feel for them.
Because I really loved the books, I could not help but watch the first movie, even if it meant having to wait a long time for the next one. I liked the movie, but in my opinion it lacked depth/background and should have been a lot darker, threatening/menacing. I hope this will be the case for the remaining movies:
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)
blog.bjornhouben.com 
lovesandhatesofagrumpyyoungwoman
September 3, 2012 at 20:56
! haven’t seen the film but I have read the first book and I really enjoyed it! I now need to get into the others…
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beckyday6
September 3, 2012 at 21:22
I completely agree! I did feel like it should have been darker, but I guess they wanted the money from younger audiences too..
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Bjorn Houben
September 4, 2012 at 06:58
I think that was indeed the reason. But I think with the power of suggestion and some creativity it could have been achieved without affecting the younger audiences and PG13 rating.
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beckyday6
September 4, 2012 at 16:59
I agree!
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Anne Kelly
September 4, 2012 at 02:04
I’m about half way through the last book and love the whole series, I’ll be very sad to see it end. What makes the book very real to me, is that I just finished a book called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The PBS show Independent Lens will have a related documentary airing early October, http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/half-the-sky/
Reading Mockingjay after finishing Half the Sky, I’m convinced its the same message. How can people of privilege, such as us in the USA, ignore the plight of others suffering to provide us the luxuries we enjoy (gold, precious metals, electronics, clothes)? Well this isn’t the actual focus of the Half the Sky book, but the connection is stark to me. I am wondering if anyone has that connection?
I have not yet seen the movie to compare it’s take on the story with this sad reality.
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