[/media-credit]Fans rushed into theaters on Friday, March 23 to see the first Hunger Games movie.
The movie is based on the beloved books by Suzanne Collins, books that have recently made best seller lists all over America.
The books are based in the post-apocalyptic world of Katniss Everdeen. The world was divided into 13 districts ruled by a place called the Capitol.
When the districts tried to rebel, the Capitol shot them down and destroyed district 13. To ensure no further uprisings, every year, the sadistic Capitol forces one boy and girl from each district to compete in the Hunger Games.
Katniss Everdeen finds herself in the middle of the Capitol’s game of death alongside handsome Peeta Mellark. She is forced to leave her young sister Prim and her equally handsome best friend Gale behind in district 12.
“It was almost exactly like the book, it was so amazing but terrifying and sad,” said sophomore Gina Marieles.
The movie, directed by Gary Ross, attempted to keep close to the books and cast the crew to follow Collins’ original characters.
“The movie was very close to the book. They can’t fit everything in the movie, but for the most part they followed it,” said sophomore Danielle Bickel. “The movie was very good! They picked the perfect actors for the parts.”
One can’t help seeing the resemblance between the recent flood of popularity to The Hunger Games and the popularity gained by the Twilight movie and books a few years ago.
Both series contain three books, three main characters put into unthinkable circumstances and a love triangle. The Hunger Games fans are quickly growing into a cult that resembles the “Twi-hards” that have recently died off.
Is this the secret to crazy fans? One girl with family issues, one absolutely perfect boy in love with her who is willing to give her everything, another who is a handsome bad boy determined to win his child hood friend back.
“It was just like Twilight, it got all this hype from the readers, then there was tons of publicity and it just grew from then on. Also, it’s a great read so I can see why many people decided to read it, it’s addicting,” said Marieles.
The clear difference between these two sagas is quality. The Hunger Games series contains a well thought out, engaging plot line, with substantial characters, whereas Twilight does not.
“Unlike Twilight, it appeals to a broader audience and has a unique story line that has never been done before,” said Bickel.
The Hunger Games was well worth the hype and deserves 4 ½ out of 5 stars for the superb application of the novel on screen. A sequel is sure to follow which will hopefully include more details about the world surrounding Katniss Everdeen.
