Could have been better

Rating: Null/10 (25 March 2012)

The question is not how faithful to the book the film is. Obviously a lot of episodes and characters have been deleted or altered, but that's not the trouble. The book is one thing, the film is another.
The point is, the authors have chosen a definitely teen-ager approach to the story. "The Hunger Games" by Collins is a beautifully complex book, and it can be read on many different levels by different categories of readers. While youngsters are more attracted by the fight/battle/survival plot, we adults are more likely to be interested in the relationship between TV and violence, oppression and voyeurism, domination and advertising.
Deciding to dedicate much of their attention to the events going on in the fighting arena, the authors of the film have, in my opinion, given way to what is most obvious and spectacular, in a word to what will attract spending-money crowds to the cinema.
Better would have been to emphasize the role of the media, with their sponsors who are willing to pay for a medicine to be sent to Katniss only if she kisses Peeta so the audience will appreciate. Better would have been to point out the "Big Brother" aspect of the story (not only its visual reminders), but apparently that's considered not important. What a pity.