'The Hunger Games': How Was the Movie Different From the Book?

As we have learned from watching the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" movies, a film adaptation can't always include everything from the book. Sometimes it's a matter of runtime, other times it's a matter of making a more visually interesting product, but inevitably something ends up being left out or changed. So what was different about "The Hunger Games?"

Oh, and obviously a major SPOILERS follow!

That Fake Romance Thing

You can file this one under missing out on Katniss' inner monologue, but there was a lot lost in translation with the Peeta/Katniss fake romance. Though Jennifer Lawrence gave a great performance and conveyed as much as she could, there were subtleties of her ambivalence about Peeta and Gale--and of the plan from Cinna and Haymitch--that got lost.

What we ended up with instead was a scenario that appeared to have Peeta going rogue on the chariot and holding Katniss' hand, with Katniss eventually developing real feelings for him even before the cave.

And speaking of that cave, we missed a good chunk of time there, which may have been used to develop that fake romance better. If not for Haymitch's notes with his gifts (a smart way to make Katniss' theories about said gifts visual), we might have missed Katniss' doubt over Peeta entirely.

That Big Brother Thing

You may have noticed some scenes in "The Hunger Games" that weren't in the book at all: namely, the scenes between Seneca Crane and President Snow. These new additions, along with the riots in District 11, helped show us the upcoming struggles in the sequels, and established Snow as the threat that he is.

But other additions, such as seeing the Gamemakers controlling the arena, took away part of the immersive aspect of the book. In the novel, we're in the arena with Katniss and we see only what she sees, and therefore we have no idea about any rebellion or perceived threat from Snow outside the arena.

This takes away some of the "Big Brother" feel of the arena, knowing that everyone is watching but not knowing how they are reacting. Some of the menace and danger of the Gamemakers is taken away as a result.

That "Hunger" Thing

They're called "The Hunger Games," but there really wasn't much hunger involved for Katniss, nor any threat of dehydration for that matter. In the book, Katniss almost bites the proverbial bullet before she even comes across any other tributes by failing to find water. Eventually she does, but the rest of the Games are smattered with moments of near starvation, extreme heat and extreme cold.

The weather changes and scarcity of food are almost totally left out, which does have an effect on the movie. Firstly, we don't recognize quite how big a deal it is for the Careers to lose their supplies: it almost comes off as more of a prank from Katniss and Rue than a brilliant strategic move.

Secondly, the final days of the Games lose a bit of their urgency. In the book, Katniss and Peeta are practically forced out into the open because of the increasingly hot days and cold nights, making the threat of heat exhaustion or hypothermia a real one. In the movie, they wander out and are pushed in by the mutts.

That Whole Brutally Violent Dictatorship Thing

Speaking of the mutts, the twist that they are supposed to be genetically engineered and have the eyes of past contestants was gone from the movie, perhaps because it would be difficult to pull off visually. We also missed out on the Avoxes (there was a quick mentioning of having tongues cut out between Gale and Katniss), and Cato's death at the Cornucopia was much, much quicker and less gruesome than it was in the book.

Because of this, the terrifying government loses a bit of its edge. True, having teenagers fight to the death is probably enough to let us know that the Capitol=bad, but having Cato be truly eviscerated by the genetically engineered remains of Thresh, Rue and the rest just adds a little extra oomph, doesn't it?

What other changes did you notice?