Well I’ve read the second book in the Hunger Games series and finally gotten to see the second movie in the series as well, so I think I have a good idea about the two sides of the coin to what ever degree it might well be. In regards to the book, I must admit I prefer it over the movie mostly because it allows my imagination to create things better then what the visual effects and acting where able to do (it worked just not how it happened in my minds eye from reading the book). So here we go…
Catching Fire is the second instalment of the Hunger Games series. The second instalment carries on from the first with a little back tracking to help you get caught up if its been a while since you last saw or read the first in the series. In the second instalment Katniss returns to district 12 with Peeta at her side having both won the 74th hunger games together as a team (first time ever in the games recorded history apparently). President Snow is nun to pleased and thoughtout the second instalment it becomes clear that he will stop at nothing to punish Katniss for what she did at the end of the first instalment.
One of the things that Katniss and Peeta are required to do as winners of the Hunger Games is tour the districts and give a speech at each location (that’s been pre written for them) during the course of doing this you can see the unrest that each district is going though and can tell that a rebellion is in the works with katniss at the front of the line, weather she knows it at first or not she is the person to whom they are rallying around. In the Movie adaptation of the 2nd book it plays well with this, giving good imagery to complement what you read in the book, at least to me it does it doesn’t take away but adds to the book – which is a nice change for a movie to do.
At the end of the first book and movie we have Katniss and Peeta going to eat the poison berries, some take it as a rebellious act other’s as an act of love – Snow won’t Katniss to make sure everyone thinks its LOVE because if its anything other then that her family and that of her friend Gail their lives are forfeit, so during the tour she has to prove to Snow and the “world” that she is madly in love with Peeta, regardless of if its truth or not. Peeta knows that Katniss isn’t really in love with him, though he loves her but he does still hope it seem’s that she will come to love him as much as he does her.
The book goes into much more detail then the movie is able to do so, but what the book says vs what is shown in the movie work to gather to give a good story over all I find. In the book side of things, we learn that Disctict 8 has had a uprising and that many have been killed, we learn this while they are looking for Madge, this is when things start to fall apart between gail and Katniss to degrees because he wont’s to fight and she is tired of the fighting.
All in all to me the movie does follow to a degree the spirit of the book and compliments its well.
Rating: 4 out of 5