The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, has movies. Those movies are being put to the test today to see which one is the best and why. There are five movies in the Hunger Games series. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the two Mockingjay movies, and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Honorable mention to Sunrise On The Reaping, but since that’s not out yet, it will not be counted in this ranking. Now, let’s begin, shall we?
1. The Hunger Games
The first movie is a classic, the franchise wouldn’t exist without it. The Hunger Games movie and its book counterpart are the backbones of this entire series. The movie is also one of the most accurate book adaptations to ever exist. Aside from Peeta losing his leg in the book, that was cut from the movie, unfortunately.
2. The Mockingjay
These two are being lumped together since the second one is just a continuation of the first. The reason these movies are number two is just because of the plot. Their plot and the darkness of these movies ensure plenty of nervousness while watching, like a roller coaster. The plot twists and the unexpected villain of the movies really leave you on the edge of your seat.
3. Catching Fire
This movie wasn’t the worst by any means, the others are simply better. This movie is also decently accurate to the book, thankfully. The way both the book and the movie seem to flip instantly from District 12 to the 75th Hunger Games is practically seamless. The movie does leave out a couple of things from the book, unfortunately. However, the plot isn’t majorly affected by the missing scenes, although some of them are important. Regardless, it’s a decent movie.
4. Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes
The main reason this movie is in last place is due to how rushed it is. The way it transitions from the tenth Hunger Games to District 12 isn’t as seamless compared to the transition in Catching Fire. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes should’ve been split into two parts.
However, the backlash that was given after the Mockingjay movies seems to give context as to why it wasn’t. Even though the movie is very enjoyable, it misses a lot of things that could’ve and should’ve been fleshed out properly.
The fact that we didn’t get the chance to see all of the plot points in the movie is unfortunate and saddening. However, there seems to be talk about a four-hour extended cut that exists. Which does bring the question, when is it going to be released, if ever?
