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Decent Quality Since 1847

From Hunger

12/8/2013

3 Comments

 
Last night, I went to the WGA Theater see the sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Halfway through the movie, I turned around in my seat to a friend who was sitting behind me and whispered, "Are we watching the exact same movie as the first one?"  The expression on her face said that she had the same thought, and she nodded.

When the movie was over, I asked her and her husband if they'd read articles before that said the two movies were near-identical?  They hadn't, though he said, "I overheard some people talking, and one said, 'If you liked the first Hunger Games, you'll like the second one.'  I had no idea the guy meant because it was the same movie."

To be clear, no, they aren't "exactly" identical.  There are some plot changes that take storyline advances into consideration.  But for all intents, they're the same.  It's bizarre.

The movie is well-made, and I enjoyed it well-enough.  Hey, as that guy said, I'd liked the first one okay, so why wouldn't I like this?  Where it leads, the third one will, I'm sure, be different -- though that was the case where the first one left off, as well.

One filmmaking matter does bug me, and my friends had noticed the same thing.

The whole point of The Hunger Games in that society is that they're broadcast all over, and the citizens are riveted by them, and that's how Katniss has become so wildly popular and beloved.  Because the entire society was on the edge of its collective chairs, watching and loving how she saved her true love.

Except not once, not one scene, not for a single moment in two movies -- and that's about five hours of screen time -- do they ever show a single person watching the Games on TV!!  They do show The President, played by Donald Sutherland, watching in his office or the Control Room, but that doesn't count.  And they show the broadcasts being done, with Stanley Tucci as the unctuous M.C.  But that's not the same as people at home watching, or in bars or anywhere.  Given that the movies cost a few gazillion dollars, and given that the filmmakers aren't concerned about trimming the length to keep the movies short -- how easy and inexpensive and short would have been to just throw in two or three brief scenes (or just one) of people watching??!  Considering that point of these three movies is clearly how the popularity with the viewing public of Katniss is what leads towards revolution, you'd think that it was sort of, well...important.

I also don't know why they called the movie, The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire.  A more obvious title would have been, The Hunger Games 2: The Hunger Games 1 Redux.
3 Comments
Ron
12/8/2013 09:47:42 am

In the first one, there's a scene after the slight young girl dies (I think), Katniss turns toward the invisible camera and gives some kind of peace sign. People in that district are watching because that's the first time we see scenes of rioting. I think there's another scene when Katniss' boyfriend left behind looks forlorn when he sees Katniss and Peta act lovey. But, youi're otherwise correct, not a lot of the viewers' POV.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
12/8/2013 10:30:53 am

Thanks. I'll take your word about there possibly being those two brief moments in the first film. And while I'm glad it's something, no, that's not a lot of viewer's POV, as you note,) But I can't recall any such scenes in the second movie, unless they were so quick as to be near-subliminal.

Reply
Arlene Paige
12/8/2013 02:24:51 pm

I loved the first one and I hope they make another through-the-roof fortune. It's only a movie. :-)

Reply



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    Author

    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.



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