MovieChat Forums > The Hunger Games (2012) Discussion > is this franchise forgotten already?

is this franchise forgotten already?


It certainly feels like it.

In hindsight, the Hunger Games movies really feel just like a fad. It was insanely popular around 2012-2013, but has since diminished significantly ever since. I don't think anyone ever really thought these movies were ever that good. They just gave into the hype and marketing.

The books themselves may be great (I haven't read them so I wouldn't know), but the films themselves seem to be just disposal summer blockbuster trash. Compared to the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter series, those films seemed to have left a far bigger impact on audiences than any of the Hunger Games movies did. Just look at how often people still reference and call back to those two franchises compared to this one. That isn't to say those were necessarily flawless movies or anything, but I fail to see how anyone can argue that they weren't vastly superior to this franchise in every respect.

These films seemed to be a prolonged version of James Cameron's Avatar. A film that broke numerous box office records and was insanely popular upon release, only to become forgotten in about a year. It's only been five years since the last Hunger Games film came out, and it already feels like the culture has already moved on. Hell, even Twilight seems to be better remembered than this franchise. At least that one was notoriously bad, whereas this was just remarkably mediocre.

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It must be fate that you posted this recently.

I was reading a debate about if the book or the movie was better on another forum and there are many films that you can have that debate with. But while I'm not a typically "the book was so much better than the movie" kind of guy, it reminded me that The Hunger Games is one of those examples where the book is vastly superior to the movie.

In the movie, the games are in themselves the focus and the story rushes into it. The book does a better job of showing the mere existence in the districts as the tragedy. You get a much better sense of the despair and deplorable conditions of every day life. You get insight into Katniss's thoughts and motivations. You understand at a greater level Peta's devotion and sacrifice for Katniss that isn't shown in the movies.

The movies were somewhat forgettable, but the book is one of the few that I've taken the time to go back and re-read. I read a lot and it's rare that I'll re-read the same fictional book twice.

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I could not agree more. Avatar sucked, btw.

😎

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