The odds were in my favor this week, and I finally made it out to see The Hunger Games. I started the book before I saw the movie, and about 100 pages in I couldn't wait to see how it ended, so I cheated and saw the movie. Now, I'm only 2 chapters away from finishing and am pretty pleased to see how well they stuck to the book. Things were obviously condensed and shortened but overall they kept the important parts of the story in tact. The only things I think they struggled with were the Katniss' flashbacks (Jennifer Lawrence's character) and the role of Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci's character). NO SPOILER ALERTS, I PROMISE! The problem with movies set in the future is they have to explain things the author has made up that will exist in that time. To elaborate on things during the Hunger Games they turned Flickerman into a sports announcer that commentated on things the tributes were doing, and it came off a little corny at times. With the book being told from Katniss' point of view it was easy to read about things from her past that shaped her character, but the movie's use of flashbacks didn't come off as clear. Having read part of the book I understood what they were trying to show, but perhaps it was a little confusing for someone with no knowledge of the story.
I still think if you haven't read the books you'll understand what's going on and really like the movie. It's full of great special effects, action, and adventure. Read the books if you want a richer story. I'm still holding on to the hope that I'll get out to see Titanic this week too!
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