# Hunger Games - Catching Fire (my problems with it)



## Steerpike (Nov 24, 2014)

I finally watched Catching Fire. I liked the first Hunger Games pretty well, but I didn't care for this one. The main reason I didn't like it was due to how poorly the development of the villains was done. The Capital isn't meant to be comprised of stupid people, but a lot of what they did was plain stupid, even taking into account their own interests. Instead of interesting villains who are trying hard to hold the pieces of their authoritarian government together, we get people who just act in ways that make no sense whatsoever, and are just evil for the sake of being evil. It's like the writers just wanted to throw a bunch of nasty stuff in to make you hate the bad guys, with no thought as to whether it makes any sense for the bad guys to do those things.

And I also though sending the "winners" back in to the arena for a new game was a weak plot point. It undermines what the Capital is trying to achieve by having the games in the first place. 

The trailer for the third movie looks good, but I hope they don't continue to make the Capital as lame as they did in the second film.


----------



## Ryan_Crown (Nov 24, 2014)

It's been a while since I've read the books, but if memory serves the novel does a better job than the movie with developing the plot. Especially the justification for sending the winners back for a second round. I do recall that I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, whereas with the movies I really enjoyed the first one, and thought the second one was okay. The third movie to me was also just okay, but I thought the third book was the weakest of the series.


----------



## Legendary Sidekick (Nov 24, 2014)

I could never get past the premise: a bunch of kids killing each other while the nation watches.

I don't want to be that aspiring writer trashing a successful writer's work or anything, and I'm sure that the story was written as a commentary on how the writer feels about war or some deeper message than the one I'm seeing. I just see _Death Race 2000, a Novel_.

(DR2K, as it's never been called, takes place in Future America. President Evil treats the country to an annual legalized killing spree while America cheers.)


----------



## Ryan_Crown (Nov 25, 2014)

Death Race 2000 is such a fun movie. On the subject of movies, the one I originally thought of when I first heard about Hunger Games is a Japanese film called Battle Royale (very similiar concept, but _much_ darker than Hunger Games).


----------



## Sheilawisz (Nov 25, 2014)

Hello, you have a loyal fanatic of _The Hunger Games_ right here.

I did not like much the movie version of Catching Fire, but that's only because the second book is my least favorite of the three installments. I disliked the general atmosphere of it, and also the plot was quite absurd and wrong from my point of view.

This is what I would have done with _Catching Fire_ instead:

Katniss and Peeta become mentors for District 12, beside Haymitch. Everything seems normal that year, there are no unusual news apart from the rumors of uprisings... Then Primrose Everdeen is selected to go to the Games _again_ and this time nobody volunteers to save her life.

One of Peeta's brothers gets selected as well, and this leads everyone to realize that there is a plot to punish Katniss and Peeta for their act of rebellion.

The Games turn out to be rigged in order to make Prim and all the others suffer for as long as possible, so all of the Mentors decide to unite, revolt and break into the Arena to help the Tributes... and then the revolution really starts!

What do you think?


----------



## Noma Galway (Nov 25, 2014)

Sheila, you're on to something. That sounds so much better and makes a heck of a lot more sense.


----------



## SeverinR (Dec 8, 2014)

The whole gladiator lottery was lost on me.
How could a society allow the smallest in their community to go to be killed.
Maybe if the best of the district could go then it would make sense. But a random victim? (this would also keep the districts weak. killing the weak in a district does nothing.)
Rue and Prim would have set the districts to riot, small(half starved) girls against older and bigger males, many properly fed, and battle trained.

The story swept me in, even with the human nature failure.


----------



## Sheilawisz (Dec 9, 2014)

I agree with you on that, Severin.

The people in non-career Districts (which are most of them) should have a system in order to protect their youngest and weakest from being sent to the Games. Their oldest and most dangerous candidates should decide between themselves who is going to step forward as a volunteer, so their younger fellows would be safe.

I think Gale would have probably won the Games, considering his size, strength and talents... really, he should have volunteered to go instead of Peeta.


----------



## SeverinR (Dec 10, 2014)

I have listened to Hanging tree a couple times since I saw the movie.


----------

