Movie vs. Book(s)

Rating: 1/10 (23 April 2012)

I read all 3 books, now I wonder if the creator of this movie also did work around the whole thing, or just skinned through the pages?
The whole setup is messed up in the movie, so of course it will not let you feel much beside some confusion. It is very frustrating that I got worked up much more by how poor the transition from book to movie actually went, instead of being shocked by the hunger games visuals.
Without spoiling any plot line: The shown district is a very poor district. Their only export is coal, there is usually only enough food that people tend to gamble anything including their life just to get a chance for few bits of extra food. Hunting game is prohibited as well as most lines of work which are not in the mine. They are not allowed to leave the town unless the officials grant that permission. The mine "gently" covers parts of the town with coal dust, so why do the people living there have clean clothes virtually all the time? Where is the emotional landscape that leads to the point that there is even a need to change?
I know the author copied a lot from the Roman empire (bread and games) and Battle Royale, and at least the first book looked promising. If they continue to produce a second and third movie, it will be either adult only, or the very same sunny day, minor complains - so let's start something really dangerous just because well, eh what exact motivation do they actually believe to have?
I'm sorry for the actors, if you actually see how little help they had from the setup, you can certainly agree that some have even accomplished something. But they will utterly fail, if they try to convert book 3 (my least favorite, because here the author actually did not copy much, but instead choose to finish it herself and at least in my point of view, she didn't even know how some of her key characters actually think) There will be too much they have to fix to actually have a decent end to the series, not a totally senseless [***].
I strongly advice that the crew should not only read all 3 books (hopefully) again, but also that they at least try to get a feeling for the setting by for example watching similar works (the original Rollerball, Battle Royal) and actually learn something about the controversy motivations behind all leads. And then try again on the first part, especially because it is the best part of the trilogy.
And for the audience I would suggest to wait, until they have done their homework. Beside some fresh actors it has so little value that you would think of the motivation from the crew as: Girl needs a reason to fight "beautifully", so give her some and don't bother with authenticity or reasoning. It did work for Rambo as well, so why not try it again...