All four parts of the tetralogy.
The firstHunger Gamesmovie hit theaters on March 23, 2012.
It was the dawn of a new moment.
Credit: Lionsgate
TheHarry Pottermovie franchise had just ended.
One finalTwilightfilm loomed on the horizon.Shailene Woodleyhad not yet claimed every young adult novel for herself.
AndJennifer Lawrencewas still “rising star Jennifer Lawrence,” not “Oscar-winning megastar and meme-friend Jennifer Lawrence.
Lionsgate
“TheHunger Gameswas a literary phenomenon: Would the movies follow suit?
Not bad for a series that starts with a downer concept kids kill kids!
and then gets bleaker.
Lionsgate
Comparing theHunger Gamesmovies might sound a bit strange.
The director brought a steady hand to the material, with occasional flourishes and lots of grayscale.
The films aren’t different the way, say, theAlienmovies are all different.
Lionsgate
It’s focused on the statecraft of wartime, not the violence.
Book-splitting got normalized with the finalHarry PotterandTwilightentries.
It worked withHarry Potter, which made thefirstDeathly Hallowsinto a road-trip heist movie.
Lionsgate
It kind of worked withTwilight: Nothing happens inBreaking Dawn Part 1, but nothing happens in anyTwilightmovie.
Unfortunately,Mockingjay Part 1feels more like thefirstHobbit:an exercise in table-setting.
Lacking any real forward momentum, Francis Lawrence and his screenwriters attempt to keep the wheels spinning with entertainment.
But it’s a delaying tactic: You could skip fromCatching FiretoMockingjay Part 2without missing much.
Unless you love gray corridors.
If you love gray corridors, this is theHunger Gamesfor you.
3.The Hunger Games
Credit Gary Ross for doing a lot with a lot less.
He does a fine job, even ifTheHunger Gamesnever flies as high as it should.
The first film is less glossy than the sequels, but Ross finds time for some outre touches.
Witness: the comeback ofWes Bentley,wild beard-waves and all.
(Gale isn’t around for much ofThe Hunger Games, andLiam Hemsworthis best when he’s offscreen.)
That givesDonald Sutherlanda lot to play with, but also dampens the book’s power.
In the movie, Snow is an obvious bad guy.
In the book, the bad guy was the audience.
By this point, theHunger Gamesensemble has swollen past the breaking point.
But, around the halfway point,Mockingjay Part 2goes to war.
It’s the most straightforward plot the series has ever had.
(Another title for this last movie:Kill Snow.)
Mockingjay Part 2blunts the raw power of the book.
It’s a worthy conclusion to the franchise: a revolutionary movie skeptical of its own revolutionaries.
It’s late winter, but the ice is thawing her troubles are just beginning.
When Katniss stops the whipping, it’s a point-of-no-return moment for her as a symbol of power.
ButCatching Fireis also the most indulgent movie in the series.
This is the movie that best threads the needle between the series' passionate advocacy and blistering satire.
Catching Fireis the most sci-fi in terms of pure spectacle.
But, like Ross before him, Francis Lawrence knows his best special effect is his star.
The final shot ofCatching Fireis a close-up of Katniss' face.
Everyone she knows is dead; her whole world is finished.
She’s sad, then defiant.
She has work to do.
The Capitol’s troubles are just beginning.
