Really good but could've been great if they stuck closer to the book.

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2012)

Really good movie but, as usual, it wasn't as good as the book which was outstanding. Obviously, you must inevitably cut out quite a bit of content in order to turn a 10 hour book into a 2 hour movie. This is not necessarily where I felt the movie missed it's mark. I didn't mind that certain minor characters were cut out (Madge and the Avox girl) and others' had their roles diminished (the prep team). I also didn't mind that certain characters' roles were embellished for the movie (Gale and Crane). However, while those were things that were necessary for the transition from pages to big screen, certain changes were not and slightly affected the overall feel of the story. ***SPOILER ALERT*** IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK AND INTEND ON IT, QUIT READING NOW. For example, Katniss and Peeta were instructed to never separate from one another during the training session by Haymitch. This was a crucial strategic element and the movie not only glossed over it but actually largely removed it entirely. This made the "star crossed lovers" vibe difficult to push. The way the Cato/Thresh thing went down also was unnecessarily changed. It wouldn't have been any longer to keep to the book here. In the book, Cato was more of a villain whereas in the more, while they tried to make him out as one, small changes diminished this effect, this change being just one of them. Now for the biggest areas of the movie where changes weren't necessary. First of all, the Mockingjay, which is the symbol of the entire trilogy, lost all importance in this movie. All tributes take a "token" into the arena with them and this was Katniss' token. The fact that she got it from Madge and Madge not being in the movie is irrelevant to the fact that they still could've had this symbol keep it's meaning as a symbol of rebellion and a smack in the face of the Capitol. Secondly, the scene of Rue's death. While I thought the movie did a really good job here, there is a critical moment afterwords where Rue's district shows their appreciation for Katniss' actions by sending her a piece of bread. Katniss then salutes them to show acknowledgment. This should not have changed because it is a major part in Katniss' rebelling against the Capitol. Katniss voluntarily saluting the cameras without initiation didn't make any sense. Instead of sticking to the book, the movie decided to replace this important sequence with a scene of Rue's district revolting. Not only did this not happen in the book but it actually doesn't occur until the second book when Katniss and Peeta take their victory tour. I wonder how they are going to fix this when they make the next movie. I did like some of the changes they did make though. It's not really possible to keep a movie in the first person so showing things that happened outside of the arena (Crane meeting with Snow, the control room, people watching back home, etc.) helped push the third person feel that was a must. Overall, it's impossible to know how I would rate the movie without reading the book which is really strange because you normally know. I might think that the movie was outstanding because I wouldn't know any different. Then again, I might feel like some of the scenes were rushed and not explained thoroughly enough. Nonetheless, it was a really good movie. It could've been great if they would've stayed a little more true to the book but it was still a good film and I look forward to seeing the next two.