Ridiculous Biases and missing the point

Rating: 8/10 (12 April 2012)

When people read the books that turn to movies they are very unreliable critics. The reader will envision what the landscapes will look like and the small details about the character's mannerisms. One could take out The Hunger Games and replace it with Harry Potter or any number of other movies and it would still have the same degrading meaning.
The audience must remember that Collins, the author of The Hunger Games is a screenwriter, and it was very apparent in the style of the book, especially in how the dialogue was written. Collins, was also the executive producer for the movie. She had a huge influence on how her book was brought to life. Whereas in movies such as Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, the authors just skimmed the script and made comments and gave input.
Readers should expect some deviations from the text when they become the audience. So stop nit-picking! The movie was done artistically. The reason for the lack of character development come from the fact that the novel is written in first person narrative, where the reader gets to hear what Katniss is thinking and reflecting on. If you look at what is going on in the movie, there is no dialogue between when Katniss enters the arena and when she meets Rue, which is about 20% of the movie right there, there is also another short part where Katniss is crying over Rue's demise before Claudius Templesmith announces that her and Peeta can win. The point of the Hunger Games was to have ONE victor, therefore tributes were isolated and would not make close friends. Katniss doesn't develop in the short time where she is in contact with Rue for time's sake.
My only criticisms are that the gaping chasm between the residents of the Capital and the residents of the Districts was not large enough, nor was the fate of District 13 ever told. Harrelson, a wonderful actor was not given a deep enough role. The alcoholism was not portrayed as a way for him to escape the emotions that surviving the Games created. The soundtrack was also not one to create that sense of suspense that can be created in other ways.
My only two disappointments from the tenuous transition from novel to screen is that the screenwriter cut out the extreme thirst that Katniss nearly died from at the start of the Games. The Capital also did not have that candy-esque feeling that one read about in the books. Though this seemed to be the clearly green-screened portion of the entire movie. The Capital seemed more like downtown Washington, DC rather than the colorful and vibrant city described in the novels. The muttations at the end also didn't represent the fallen tributes, which was disappointing, but it didn't take away too much from the general feeling of suspense
Overall this movie was a masterful recreation of the novel and should be highly praised and complimented on this astounding achievement. The fans of The Hunger Games series can only hope that Catching Fire will retain this touch of cinematic magic.