8 Things I Learned From Watching The Hunger Games Movies For The First Time In 2024

After finally watching the Hunger Games movies for the first time in 2024, I got to see why the series was so successful, and I learned a lot of things I had no idea about about Katniss and the world around her. THE Hunger Games the films were some of the most successful films of the 2010s, but I never got around to watching them. Of course, I was aware of the premise of the series and knew characters like Katniss Everdeen and President Snow but with little or no context.

With the arrival of the first Hunger Games prequel, The ballad of songbirds and snakes, and the announcement of a new one focusing on Haymitch, there was no better time to finally watch the Hunger Games movies in order. Not only have the films aged very well compared to other blockbusters of the 2010s, but they were also very engaging and made me want to watch the entire saga.

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The Hunger Games movies made me want to read the books

Of course, the movies left out a lot of things.

Even though I’ve never read Suzanne Collins’ book Hunger Games books, it’s clear that the films left out a lot of things from the source material. From the rhythm of the films to the large amount of history and knowledge of each piece of this world, I could say that the Hunger Games the films were having to make difficult decisions every step of the way regarding what should be brought over from the books and what should not. After all, there’s only so much a film can do in 150 minutes.

I was glad that all the films were relatively long, considering how much world-building there was to be done. Still, some parts of the films felt very rushed, and I assume those moments were better explored in the source material. For example, the story of Katniss and Peeta before their first Hunger Games it was clearly important to both characters. However, we only get glimpses of this through flashbacks. This is why watching the films sparked my interest in reading the Hunger Games series of books.

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Donald Sutherland’s President Snow steals the show in every film

President Snow’s scenes were some of my favorites in the franchise

While I obviously wasn’t surprised that the late Donald Sutherland gave an incredible performance as President Snow, I was surprised by how powerful his presence was throughout the entire franchise. The Hunger Games films bring together a fantastic cast of established actors and rising stars, but Sutherland steals the show every time Snow appears. President Snow doesn’t appear that much compared to the other characters, but he makes such an impact that it seems like he’s always there watching.

A good villain can make or break a YA saga like Hunger Gamesand luckily, President Snow was amazing. The way Sutherland would play Snow in a calm and almost gentle way regardless of the situation despite how spiteful the character added to many films and made me even more interested in the history of that world. Snow was clearly a character who had seen and done a lot, which Sutherland’s performance managed to effortlessly convey. I understand now why a Snow prequel seemed like a no-brainer after the main series ends.

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Jennifer Lawrence’s performances as Katniss are some of the best of her career

Jennifer Lawrence gives a powerful performance from the first scene

As successful as the Hunger Games the films were, they were just the beginning of Jennifer Lawrence’s career. The actress would go on to star in many other successful and critically acclaimed titles, from blockbusters like X-Men: First Class sequences in which Mystique became even more important to Oscar-winning projects like Silver linings Playbook. Therefore, it might be easy to assume that Lawrence’s best performances came after the Hunger Games films. However, I learned that this was not the case.

Of The Hunger Games‘first scene, Lawrence plays an attractive main character that makes you root for her despite not knowing much about this world. Katniss has had an almost palpable burden on her shoulders from the opening scene of The Hunger Games to the final minutes of Thrush – Part 2and while a lot of that comes from the writing, a lot of it can be attributed to Jennifer Lawrence’s performance. I expected Katniss to be more of an action heroine, but the character I discovered was much more than that.

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Katniss and Peeta are great, but my favorite characters were supporting characters

I loved practically every supporting character in The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss and Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta are the heart and soul of the Hunger Games films, but my favorite characters in the franchise were supporting characters. This is not a criticism of how The Hunger Games treated its protagonist, but rather a complement to the way the films portrayed the supporting characters. From casting choices to giving everyone a moment to shine, I was never bored when a scene changed from Katniss or Peeta to a different character.

In truth, I often found myself wishing we’d seen more characters like Woody Harrelson’s HaymitchEffie by Elizabeth Banks, Caesar by Stanley Tucci, Beetee by Jeffrey Wright and Plutarch by Philip Seymour Hoffman. It’s amazing how many great actors were in the Hunger Games movies, and none of them were wasted on boring or unimportant supporting characters. I also liked how the films combined larger-than-life characters like Effie and Caesar with relatively grounded figures like Plutarch.

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The Hunger Games franchise is as “YA” as it gets

All the tropes are here, but they’re used well

The Hunger Games The films helped establish Hollywood’s own cinematic genre – young adult film adaptations. Interestingly, while the Hunger Games The series has been very successful both in terms of novels and films, other YA properties have never become as big. The failure of Divergent franchise was a sad reminder that not every YA adaptation would work as well as the Hunger Games filmsto the point that this genre was never the same in terms of theatrical releases.

That being said, The Hunger Games It’s as YA as it gets in a good way. The films – and I assume the books as well – feature many of the tropes that can be found in almost every other young adult dystopian series. Corrupt and oppressive governments, different factions, a lot of worldbuilding and lore that is mentioned but not necessarily shown, and a love triangle involving the protagonist are just some of the genre tropes that can be identified in the film. Hunger Games films. Of course, the Hunger Games the franchise helped establish these tropes and inspired many other series.

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The Hunger Games Prequels Initiative Makes a Lot of Sense After Watching the Films

The Hunger Games universe is too rich not to be revisited

Given the success of the first four Hunger Games it was only a matter of time before the franchise returned to the big screen. However, considering how definitive and satisfying Katniss’ ending was, a fitting sequel to Thrush it wouldn’t make much sense. With reboots being so common in Hollywood, I wouldn’t be surprised if The Hunger Games it was remade into a new movie or even a TV show. However, the franchise preferred to focus on prequels, which I see now makes a lot of sense.

Almost every line of dialogue or piece of decoration in the Hunger Games movies teases an interesting story that took place in that world before the events of the first film. A prequel about the first Hunger Games and how Snow rose to power seemed like an obvious choice for a new book or movie – and I’m glad they both happened. Now I’m interested to see what the Haymitch prequel will be likeespecially since Woody Harrelson’s character was probably my favorite of the entire series.

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It took me a while to understand Katniss and Peeta’s relationship

I knew they would end up together

Since I knew Katniss and Peeta were endgame – it was too big a spoiler to avoid for over a decade – I was curious to see how their relationship would play out. It took me a while to understand why Katniss and Peeta would end up together.especially after the first film. Naturally, Katniss and Peeta played characters to create a love story that would help them through the Hunger Games, but it soon evolved into something serious.

I realized that Peeta wasn’t exactly playing a character – he had feelings for Katniss. Her feelings for Peeta were what took me the longest to understand, especially without the context of the books. However, between the past and the shared trauma, I can see why Peeta and Katniss were endgame. This is one of the aspects that I assume is better developed in the books. Everything happens very quickly in the films, especially in the last two, which can contradict the representation of complex relationships.

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I Understand Why Katniss’ Ending Was Divisive (But I Liked It)

Katniss’ peaceful life made sense

Thrush – Part 2 ends with Katniss and Peeta being happily ever after as parents living in peace and enjoying life after so much pain and misery. However, I could see why Katniss’ ending was somewhat controversial, or at least surprising. Throughout the films, we often see Katniss as a warrior – someone who will stop at nothing to protect her family and fight for her people. However, a peaceful life makes perfect sense for her character.

Katniss did not choose to be a symbol, much less the face of a revolution. When asked by Snow if she wanted to fight in a war, Katniss immediately said no. All she ever wanted was to protect her family, but life had different plans. “Warrior Katniss” was a product of the circumstances around her, not what she wanted to be. I liked how the Hunger Games‘ the main story ended, and how Katniss was finally able to live a life where she wouldn’t have to fight for simple things.