The Star Wars prequels (Episodes II and III, anyway) are better than The Hunger Games

Alright, I'll start: Tragedy: There are two reasons why the tragic events that occur in the Star Wars prequels hit so much harder. 1) We get a chance to know and understand the characters before tragedy strikes. By the time Anakin's mother dies, we know that Anakin is fearful, anxious, compassionate, loving, paranoid and reckless. We have a sense of his personality and backstory. For the characters in The Hunger Games, such as Rue, Mags and Cato, we don't have enough time to get to know their personalities and who they are before they are killed, making it seem as if they were only introduced so we'd feel sorry when they eventually died. 2) The issues that characters in the prequels face have a lot more buildup. When we hear news of Anakin's visions in Episode II (His mothers death) and Episode III (Padme's death), much of the movie builds up and foreshadows these moments. It gives us plenty of tension over what these characters are going to do, and we see loads of development before the events actually occur. Neither Cato, Rue or Mags develop at all before their deaths, and while they may be predictable, there certainly isn't any tension or build up. Use of Visuals: Visuals can be as touching and moving as any dialogue, and I think Star Wars Episode II and III understood this a lot more than The Hunger Games, which seems to just use visuals because they "look creative and cool." The prequels use style to IMPROVE substance. It's a classic case of style over substance that plagues The Hunger Games series, particularly with the District 1 scenes. Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith make great use of sunsets, sometimes symbolizing a new hope and bright future, in the case of Padme and Anakin's marriage, and sometimes symbolizing the end of a golden age, as we see when Anakin and Padme are feeling each others presence from the Jedi Temple and Padme's Apartment building. Other examples of visuals in the use of symbolism include Anakin & Dooku's lightsaber fight, where the room goes pitch black, and the red and blue sabers cross over to each other, symbolizing Anakin and Dooku, two perfect storms of light and darkness. Acting: Now, I will admit that the acting in The Hunger Games is good, but not quite as good as what we see in Star Wars Episode II and III. Many have criticized the acting of Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, but I thought their performances were phenomenal. The two have excellent romantic chemistry, and are very good at portraying a very awkward, uncomfortable (But still sweet) love story. Hayden Christensen does an excellent job showing just how internally weak Anakin is, masterfully portraying his fear, anxieties, insecurities, rage, arrogance and cockiness. There are some scenes where he's just bursting with emotion (The fire place scene with Padme and the Tusken Slaughter), and you can truly feel his pain at several parts in the movie. Natalie Portman does an excellent job as the more reserved Padme Amidala, becoming more and more emotionally driven as the films progress and more and more insecure. Samuel L. Jackson is amazing as Mace Windu, doing an excellent job showing the emotional toll being a Jedi master can take, as he descends further and further into emotion induced darkness. As for Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine...What more can be said about this guy? He's a terrifying, entertaining and scenery chewing force who commands presence and offers some of the best and most memorable moments of the prequels. Characters: The characters of The Hunger Games are very much fantasy characters, and their problems aren't really treated as something that can be related to. At least not often. Many of the characters in Star Wars Episode II and III on the other hand face a multitude of internal conflicts and problems that can be related to by many. Hopeless romantics who have failed to find true love, as well as teenagers facing identity crisis or the loss of a loved one, or anyone going through major issues of fear and self loathing, can easily relate to Anakin Skywalker's plight. Strict parents who love their children but have issues controlling their rebelliousness can relate easily to Obi Wan, and understand the pain he goes through having to try and destroy Anakin in Episode III. People in love with someone who has completely changed into someone they don't even recognize could easily sympathize with the hell Padme faces with Anakin's turn in Episode III. The characters in The Hunger Games feel like, well, fantasy characters. The characters of the prequels, or at least people with their psychological profiles, could very much exist in real life.