Hungry Movie Games

Saw the Hunger Games movie this weekend.  I thought for a movie adaption of a book they did an excellent job.  The casting (with the exception of Peeta) was spot on, only one part was changed and I don't think it really affected the overall movie (though I don't know why they changed it).  Some character development was lost, but over all I would recommend it to anyone who has read or has an interest in the book.

Best part of the movie was the casting, especially of Donald Sutherland as President Snow and Stanly Tucci as Ceaser Flickerman.  Lenny Kravitz as Cinna and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy were surprisingly spot on.  The only real casting decision I did not like was Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, mostly because he looked a lot younger then Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss, he did a decent job with the part, I just had a hard time with the chemistry between him and Katniss's character.  The only major change I saw was the way Katniss got her mocking jay pin.  It was given to her when she saw it at the market, and she gave it to her sister Prim, who gave it back to her for the Hunger Games.  In the book it was given to her by a girl from the town, kind of a way to show the support of whole district no matter what class they were in.
The whole transformation process of Katniss at the Capitol was glossed over, which disappointed me a little as I feel in the book that is where we learn a lot about her thought process. I also wish they had done more with the character of Cinna, as I find him one of the more fascinating people in the book.  The addition of the "behind the scenes" stuff during the actual Hunger Games was pretty cool, kind of showed the extent they would go through to make the games interesting to the crowd.  The Hunger Games themselves was done almost exactly as written in the book which was really really cool.  The violence was glossed over a lot with camera angles and quick look away, but they needed to maintain a PG-13 rating which is understandable.  The role of Seneca Crane played by Wes Bentley was expanded to the benefit of the film, and his last scene finally brought home some of the horrific cruelty the Capitol is capable of.

 If I had one major complaint about the film, it is probably the fact that the de-humanizing horror of the Capitol did not really come through.  In the book you get the feel of this unstoppable behemoth that will take any measure to ensure the safety and continued comfort of the lavish Capitol lifestyle.  The terrible things that are done in the book really make for a sinister feel in the Capitol even amidst the revelry and seeming happiness of there lifestyles.

Overall like I said earlier, I was mostly impressed with the movie, they actually kept to the storyline, the casting (which is a huge part of an adapted book for me) was spot-on, and the visuals were stunning. A lot of the tension I had while reading the book was not present as I already knew what was going to happen so it was actually a tad boring in that respect.  A little more character development, and a little more hopelessness and it would have been perfect.  Overall I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 mocking jays.

What did you think of the movie?  Did the characters come across like they did when you were reading the book?  How much do you want a dress that shoots flames?!?