20 Things I Learned After Rewatching The Hunger Games Series
"The Hunger Games" set a new standard for young adult dystopian movies when it hit cinema screens in 2012. The film series is based on the popular novels of the same name by Suzanne Collins, which took inspiration from franchises such as "Battle Royal." Set in the fictional world of Panem, "The Hunger Games" follows a group of teenagers who are forced to compete against each other in a deadly competition at the same time as a rebellion begins to spring against the ruling class. Starring the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, and Stanley Tucci, the films were a critical and financial success.
So it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that the fourth film was not the end of the franchise. A prequel in the form of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" premiered in November of 2023, providing a broader look at the world of Panem, its most important characters, and the early Hunger Games. Of course, it also gives everyone a good excuse to go back and watch the original movies, as well, with some new context and background information.
More than a decade later, there are a lot of lessons to take from "The Hunger Games" and its sequels that were not necessarily apparent at the time of their release.
How much they deviate from the books
Most fans will know that "The Hunger Games" movies are based on a series of novels by Suzanne Collins. Like any book adaptation, there are obviously going to be differences between the source material and what viewers see on screen. That's simply because there is never enough time in even a lengthy film to include absolutely every detail from a novel that can take a dozen or more hours to read. It's something that book lovers constantly have to deal with when their favorite stories are made into movies, including high-profile adaptations such as "Harry Potter."
Watching the four original "Hunger Games" films once again reveals just how many changes were made, not to mention some rather notable moments that were left out. These include storylines such as Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) having his leg amputated following injuries from the muttations to the almost complete absence of the Avox servant cast in the Capitol. There are also some subtler deviations, such as the hints that Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) was actually on the side of District 13 and the wider rebellion against the Capitol. In either case, there are actually a lot more differences than you may have first realized.
More districts should have been training their children
Within the universe of "The Hunger Games," competitors for the deadly tournament are primarily chosen through a process that is known as reaping. In essence, the reaping acts as a lottery that randomly chooses two children from each district, although individuals can have a higher chance of being picked by having more ballots. One can gain more ballots by being older and automatically getting more entries, or via a system known as tesserae whereby tributes receive extra ballots in exchange for food for their family. However, some participants volunteer to compete.
This is usually done by a close friend or family member to save a younger loved one from having to enter the Hunger Games; just look at how Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to protect her sister. From what we get to witness in the novels and films, though, volunteering is seemingly a rare event — that is, if you discount Districts 1 and 2. Both of these regions specifically train tributes from a young age to be volunteers. The training regime produces effective fighters who have a distinct advantage over tributes who have no combat or survival experience, and winners often come from this group.
Watching the films again really hammers home how strange it is that other districts don't do the same thing. While it is technically against the rules, the few districts that do train volunteers do so without any consequences. There are also obvious examples of the Capitol not catching other illegal activity, like Katniss hunting with her bow, which gives her lots of experience using the weapon in the Games.
Katniss is a great hero
Although there are several protagonists present throughout "The Hunger Games" series, the one that is always central to the action is Katniss Everdeen. Jennifer Lawrence's character was striking from the very beginning, but it is only when you come back and see Katniss again with the benefit of hindsight that you realize just how effective a hero she actually is. In fact, she is the kind of great protagonist that is rare to find in movies or television series and even has multiple layers to her personality.
She is not the type of individual who will blindly follow orders, as demonstrated by her illegal hunting and willingness to break the rules in the Hunger Games when it suits her needs. Perhaps more importantly, though, Katniss understands that sometimes you have to fall in line and survive to fight another day. Yet, she is also kind and compassionate, willing to sacrifice herself not only for her family but also for the greater good as well. There's something for everybody watching to emphasize with when watching Katniss, and that's what makes her such a compelling hero.
The financial disparity in Panem feels incredibly real
Panem, the fictional world where "The Hunger Games" is set, is a land that is filled with financial disparity. Essentially a futuristic version of the U.S., Panem is very compartmentalized. The central hub and government sits in the rich and technologically advanced Capitol, while the rest of the population lives in 12 districts that range from not-quite poverty to almost complete destitution. The two groups share a parasitic relationship, with the districts barely making enough to get by while the Capitol strips them of their resources and wealth, keeping them in a constant state of hunger and need.
Many people who watched "The Hunger Games" for the first time when it was initially released will have been teenagers themselves and probably didn't think anything more of this than an evil government doing terrible things to its people. Yet, looking back at it with more experience and a better understanding of the world, it is clear that the movies parallel real life — at least to some extent. The rich keep getting richer while those at the other end of the spectrum continue to struggle evermore as the divide grows bigger. With the current cost of living crisis, the stark parallels between Panem and our world are even more obvious.
It's strange that victors don't share their winnings
Winning the Hunger Games is certainly the best outcome once you are selected as a tribute, but the life of a victor isn't exactly comfortable. In the novels, we learn that previous winners of the competition are often damaged in some way. Whether they suffer from the terrible things they were forced to do to survive and the things they have seen or are simply taken advantage of by the Capitol for its benefit, victors struggle to live a normal life. One benefit, though, is that they do receive a seemingly very large monetary prize that makes them much richer than anyone else they know.
Something strange that sticks out when rewatching "The Hunger Games" films is how Katniss and Peeta seemingly don't do much to help their fellow citizens of District 12. Throughout the series it's made clear that the districts are incredibly poor compared to the Capitol, and District 12 specifically has the least in terms of money and resources. Yet, neither Katniss nor Peeta do anything to try and share their wealth to try and make the lives of their fellow residents any better. They simply live in their new exclusive homes in the elite village that is set aside for victors of the Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games is just reality television gone too far
Nowadays, viewers are used to seeing some pretty bizarre and even grotesque things on their television screens. In many cases, the worst offenders are not fictional shows but reality television series that pit real-life people against each other. Not only are these some of the most popular shows, but they are also some of the most brutal and savage. Just look at the likes of "Squid Game: The Challenge" or "Fear Factor" for an idea of how difficult reality TV can be for those taking part.
Watching "The Hunger Games" now, it becomes even more clear that there are obvious similarities between that competition and current reality television shows. Both exploit social inequality, with the poorest and most vulnerable members of society being the type of individuals who are essentially forced to entertain everyone else. Often, people take part in these shows to try and win money for good causes or to transform their lives, mirroring what happens in the movies. While many reality television series may not take this approach, there are still plenty of examples that are not so different from the Hunger Games, outside of the combat and killings.
The movie is perfectly cast
It doesn't matter how good a script is or who is directing a movie; if the cast isn't right then no screen project will ever be successful. Massive franchises such as "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" largely worked because the actors chosen to play the various parts were such a good fit. Just try to imagine someone other than Ian McKellen playing Gandalf or Alan Rickman not having the role of Severus Snape. Getting the cast right is essential to making a successful film and some actors have even been fired during filming when it became clear they were wrong for their part.
Viewing "The Hunger Games" series all these years later really does give one an appreciation of how good the cast is. You have great actors playing complex parts, ranging from Josh Hutcherson as Peeta to Donald Sutherland as President Snow. Then you have veteran actors putting in stellar performances, with Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman all standing out. Rewatching "The Hunger Games" also lets you understand just how much of a jumping-off point the series was for many actors, giving them a chance to shine. Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Dormer, Sam Claflin, and Gwendoline Christie were stellar in their roles, and have gone on to do great things ever since.
The transition to the IMAX aspect ratio is brilliant
What many people may not have even noticed when watching "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" for the first time is that the film has a striking transition partway through when the aspect ratio switches from 2.39:1 to the expanded IMAX default of 1.90:1. It's not uncommon for films to switch aspect ratios, especially for action sequences that have been shot with IMAX cameras. However, the change is usually hidden by cropping or disguising what is shown on screen.
In the case of "Catching Fire," the movie actually incorporates the new aspect ratio as a dramatic tool. As can be seen in the sequence where Katniss rises through a claustrophobic tube into the full light of the arena via an elevator, the black bars at the top and bottom of the frame slowly disappear. By the time Katniss reaches the top, the screen is filled with the image, leaving no border at all. It is a powerful moment and, even now, is one of the best IMAX transitions out there — as well as an example of how to switch between aspect ratios effectively.
The love triangle no longer feels important
When people first watched "The Hunger Games" and its sequels, one of the biggest topics of conversation was the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). The three characters were intertwined for much of the franchise and fans understandably discussed who they thought Katniss would end up with. In a series that focuses so much on dystopia and violence, a love triangle may not sound all that important, but it allowed viewers to empathize more with the characters and put themselves in their shoes as if it were something they could understand.
At various points, it looked as if both Gale and Peeta could be the final romantic partner for Katniss, who had been forced to pretend to be pregnant with Peeta's child at one point and fight alongside Gale in the rebellion. Eventually, Peeta and Katniss do admit their feelings for each other and end up together. But when rewatching the films now, the entire romance plot feels unnecessary. It takes the focus away from Katniss as a formidable and determined hero while also diminishing the choices she makes out of her love for her sister, Prim (Willow Shields).
Katniss sees her father's face on the hallucinated miners
Out of all the districts in Panem, District 12 is arguably the least powerful and most poverty-stricken. The main purpose of the area is coal mining, with the district seemingly providing resources to the Capitol. It is a tough industry to be associated with as it is demanding work that requires hard manual labor. Plus there's the constant threat of explosions and collapses to deal with, as well as other accidents that leave many miners dead, with missing limbs, or facing health complications later in their lives.
As an example of just how dangerous the mines are, Katniss' father was killed before the events of the 74th Hunger Games during an explosion that also killed Gale's father. Such a traumatic event likely shaped Katniss in the years running up to her entering the Hunger Games and it makes sense that when she is affected by tracker jacker venom, she sees images of him among her loved ones. However, what is easy to miss without a rewatch is that all of the coal miners Katniss sees during these hallucinations actually have her father's face. It's a clever detail that is easy to miss, especially when watching for the first time.
The shakiness of the camera really stands out in the first film
When it came to film the first movie in "The Hunger Games" franchise, director Gary Ross decided to utilize a handheld camera for almost all of the shooting. Speaking to Vulture, Ross revealed that this was a deliberate choice to try and mirror the first-person perspective of the book and to tell the story from Katniss and the other characters' perspectives rather than look as if it had just been captured on film. He explained: "I want you to experience the world through Katniss's eyes, and that requires a very subjective cinematic style, to be kind of urgently in her point of view, so that's why I shot it that way."
As a dramatic tool, the shakiness and speed of the camera movements do provide an idea of the kind of frantic energy involved in the Hunger Games and what Katniss is experiencing. But over a decade later and in comparison to the other movies in the series, it now looks out of place and feels uncomfortable to watch. The sense of constant motion means it is difficult to focus and really take anything in, making it hard to see what is going on and truly learn about the characters.
There are some major plot holes that are hard to ignore
The first time you watch a film isn't usually when you notice plot holes or inconsistencies in a story — unless they are glaring mistakes. That's especially true for movies like "The Hunger Games" and its sequels as they are high-octane and full of action, never giving you much of a break to sit down and think about the story or its consequences. But with the benefit of a long gap after the hype has worn down and extra time to think about everything that happened in the series, several serious plot holes do emerge.
While none of the plot holes in "The Hunger Games" franchise are particularly major or ruin the overall story, you really do notice just how many there are when you rewatch the movies. There are some silly ones, such as how Katniss is able to shoot down jet bombers with just a bow and arrow — even if they are explosive — and the fact that the reaping bowl used to pick the tributes clearly doesn't have enough names in it compared to the number of residents in the district.
However, some plot holes are harder to look past as they are more important to the narrative. These include the entire idea behind the Hunger Games as a way to prevent rebellions and why the Capitol has no reason to be so reliant on the other districts in the first place.
The Mockingjay Pin really isn't that lucky
Throughout "The Hunger Games" there is one symbol that comes to symbolize the rebellion: the Mockingjay. The symbol is closely associated with Katniss once she starts carrying a pin featuring the bird that was given to her by her younger sister, Prim. Katniss carries it with her throughout the 74th Hunger Games, and it quickly becomes a banner not only for her but also for the fight against the Capitol as she eventually works with the secretive District 13 to spark a new rebellion.
Prim gives Katniss this pin as a good luck charm, hoping it will protect her and bring her good fortune. Yet, Katniss was the original owner of the pin and only gave it to Prim to help her remain calm while the reaping was happening — keep in mind that only moments later, Prim was chosen as tribute for District 12. If anything, rewatching the movie now, it seems as if the pin is actually unlucky. After all, Prim was almost doomed to enter the Hunger Games while she had it in her possession.
Seeing more of the world would have been beneficial
"The Hunger Games" and its sequels were all high-octane movies that moved along at a fast pace and were filled with intense action. The downside of this is that fans never really got to see Panem. Almost all of the action takes place within the Hunger Games arena, District 12, the Capitol, and later District 13. Yet, these are just a few of the many regions of the world and it means that viewers never get a chance to truly explore what life is like for those living in other districts and the trials and tribulations that they have to go through. Rewatching the films now puts this even more into focus as you realize how little you actually know about the fictional world as a whole.
Of course, "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" obviously helped to solve this issue to some extent, giving viewers a better understanding of the world of Panem and how the entire region works. With the possibility of more prequels, this is something that fans of the franchise will undoubtedly want to see more of, as it helps give a bigger picture and show that it is not just the people of District 12 who had it bad. It just would have been nice to have some more world-building and lore in the original four movies.
Peeta's rock disguise is more stupid every time you see it
Peeta becomes one of the main characters in "The Hunger Games" and acts as a tribute for District 12 alongside Katniss. Although he still comes from a poor background, he is not quite as impoverished as many other residents of his region as his family doesn't work in the mines. Instead, his family operates a bakery and he trains there by decorating cakes with frosting. When it comes time to pick the special skill that he'll use to mark himself out from the other competitors in the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta chooses camouflage, citing his experience in decorating cakes as the perfect training to disguise himself.
This eventually leads to one of the most bizarre moments in the entire franchise and something that a lot of viewers were quick to point out when it was first released. However, with the passing of more time, the situation seems even more farcical, and the lesson here is that sometimes it's okay to leave things from the source material out of the adaptation if they simply don't make sense. The specific moment sees an injured Peeta, facing death if he is discovered, somehow blending himself into a rock formation using mud and dirt in a feat that would only be believable if he had an entire make-up team to help him.
The Capitol would have had more control if it wasn't evil
The entire point of the Hunger Games within the fictional world of Panem is to give the Capitol a way to control the rest of the population. Following a previous rebellion, the government created the Hunger Games to punish the districts and keep them in line. The idea behind the competition is that they keep residents in a constant state of fear and despair but also show that the Capitol is willing to reward those who perform well, providing a tiny spark of hope. The Capitol is rightly terrified that it will be destroyed if the districts rebel again, so it does everything in its power to subjugate them and keep them weak.
Watching the films now, though, and it shows just how silly this entire strategy was. The Capitol could have remained in control and possibly increased its authority by being less corrupt. Sharing wealth and improving the lives of everyone, even at a slow rate, would have likely led to the population seeing the Capitol as a force for good and not something that needed to be overthrown. By forcing children to murder and be killed, treating the districts terribly, and generally being a force for evil, the Capitol ensured it was enemy number one and a target for further rebellions.
Every character death is just as impactful
If you haven't watched "The Hunger Games" in a while and were thinking that doing so now might make some of the deaths a little easier to take, then you should think again. In this case, time is not a healer, and knowing that certain characters are going to die gruesome deaths does nothing to lessen the impact of their departure.
Considering that the series is focused on a deadly competition where children are forced to fight to the death until just a single victor remains, it isn't all that shocking that there is a lot of death in "The Hunger Games" and its sequels. Even after all this time has gone by, it can be shocking to once again see how much death and destruction there is.
Worse, though, is the fact that you can happily fall in love with these characters again and become attached to them all while knowing what fate has in store for them. This makes the entire viewing experience have a sense of dread as you are waiting for your favorites to be brutally killed off.
They effectively started and ended the young adult dystopian genre
"The Hunger Games" arrived at a time when the young adult dystopian genre was just beginning to become a force. Becoming an instant hit, the series grew quickly, with sequels adapting all of the original novels to ensure fans got to see a conclusion to the overall narrative. The success of "The Hunger Games," though, also saw a spate of similar movies with familiar themes, settings, and characters. Alongside the sequels to this franchise, new films such as "The Maze Runner," "The Giver," and "Divergent" all arrived within the span of just a few years.
Yet, none of them proved to be anywhere near as successful as "The Hunger Games." By trying to replicate what made the franchise such a hit, the other young adult dystopian movies felt too much like copies that utilized the same tropes and similar twists (despite them having their own source material). They failed to properly stand out on their own and be distinctive but also didn't take the right lessons from "The Hunger Games" about allowing the characters to be vulnerable and explore their emotions. In the end, the "Hunger Games" series set such a high standard for the genre that it couldn't be bested, and studios simply stopped trying to make these types of films.
Everything is more disturbing and bleak
There's no denying that "The Hunger Games" books and movies were targeted towards teenagers. Not only do they feature a cast of primary characters that are of that age, but they also deal with themes and problems that teenagers come up against — such as rebelling against authority figures and learning how to deal with new romantic relationships. That makes it easy for some of the more gruesome and bleak moments from "The Hunger Games" to have been glossed over somewhat when the films first came out as they were not necessarily the most important aspects for the target audience.
Of course, the same people who loved "The Hunger Games" over a decade ago are now that much older and will have a new perspective on the world. With that in mind, rewatching the films now adds a new sense of despair. Seeing how horrible Panem is for ordinary people and the terrible things that everyone has to go through is now much more difficult, as are the choices that the tributes have to face as they simply try to survive. Despite the franchise ending on a happy note, it is impossible not to think about the trauma and effects that will continue to haunt the likes of Katniss and Peeta as they continue with their lives.
The films totally hold up
Although they were not to everyone's taste, there is little denying the fact that "The Hunger Games" franchise did incredibly well and was well-liked by a lot of people. The good thing is that everything that made the movies so great all those years ago continues to be the case today. The films hold up incredibly well, despite some minor complaints, and are still very much worth watching.
A lot of that has to do with things like the exceptional musical score and the solid acting performances of the entire cast. The special effects also don't look dated and the visuals are on par with any movie that is currently available to watch in a movie theater. There are essentially no major issues with the films and no controversies that have arisen over the years to dampen your enjoyment of them.
They also have the added benefit of having an overall theme and message that is still relevant. The fact that they now have some space between their release and the release of the original books also helps, as it means you are less inclined to compare them and can enjoy them for what they are.