It’s been 10 years since “The Hunger Games” dominated the 2010s by being one of the most popularly watched movies of the decade.
Netflix released all these four films giving tribute to the popular movie franchise in the 2000s. Having access to all these movies on Netflix since they released them to their platform has people debating whether these films give the hype they gave back during the 2000s?
“The Hunger Games” (2010), “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (2013), “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” (2014), “The Hunger Games: Mockinjay – Part 2,” (2015) all rated PG-13.
“The Hunger Games” had a huge impact and was a new era of cinema. First film made $694.4 million, the second $865 million, the third $755.4 million, and the fourth $653.4. Which is a lot of money coming in for each movie. Which made the series the 21st highest-grossing film franchise of all time.
“The Hunger Games” starts in incredible fashion by introducing the viewers to 12 districts that have dedicated their service to the Capital. Each year, two people from each district pay respect to the Capital by participating in a battle of death against the other districts, which is called the Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), from District 12 volunteers for the games to save her younger sister.
The movies also follow a love story Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Katniss and Katniss and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Some fans think it was annoying to focus on the love aspect and not on the bigger picture the books showed.
The movies were based on the book series “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins. The books explore themes such as oppression, rebellion, and survival. The books were more focused on the conspiracy than the romances, but that was changed for the big screen.
One of the major drawbacks of the storyline is having Katniss’ emotions mixed up with her thinking she is in love with Gale. This was done to keep them alive from the games so the audience likes their love story and doesn’t want them to die. Both want to live and not have a choice but to fake it so the creators don’t’ find a way to kill them off as they do with the rest when they do the yearly hunger games.
When it comes to the main actress, Jennifer Lawrence, I enjoy her acting very much. But for some fans, her portrayal of their romance made it a little unbearable to watch. Personally, it doesn’t bother me that much. But it’s the love story that has fans split. For the battle scene, I felt they were incredible to watch and fun also.
The movie was shot with such different types of filming: intense pasting, which means showing the characters’ age and the time going by; quick cuts, which are several consecutive shots of brief duration, and shaking cams, which means hand-held camera, or give the appearance of being held-held.
I think, overall the series was put together really well. It made my heart race and I was over the back of my mind wondering what would happen next. “The Hunger Games” series is dark but fun.
The movie has a lot of conspiracies of oppression, rebellion, and survival. Especially toward the end of the franchise, it’ll get your brain thinking and waiting and wanting to watch the next film of the series. I feel like this series is very unrated and a great movie series. My rating for the overall series would be 8/10.
When rating each of the four movies, I would rate “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” last. I disliked this movie out of all of them. I felt like the “Mockinjay” book should not have been two parts. Sadly, I feel like this movie suffers because of it.
The filmmakers tried their best, but the film was really slow. The one thing I did like about this movie was the politics in the film. It was really interesting and kept me watching and interested in the film.
In the third place, I would put “Mockingjay Part 2,” which is the same problem as the last film, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” where this book shouldn’t have been two parts. I liked this movie better than “Part 2” because it’s the last film of the series where everything gets answered and everything comes together. I felt like Josh Hutcherson played the best in this film as Gale Hawthorne with his acting.
In second place was the first “Hunger Games,” even though this film had the lowest budget compared to the other three films within the series. The cinematography is the best compared to the other films. Some viewers weren’t a fan of the shaking camera, but I enjoyed the effect. I feel like it added to the film. The first film holds a good place in my heart.
First place goes to “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” This film adds to “The Hunger Games” universe with world-building and combines everything nicely.
Netflix’s release of the entire series gives tributes and new fans a chance to relive the entire series. And may the odds be in your favor!
