The Hunger Games (2012)

Summary:

In the destroyed North America a nation called Panem has risen. In this nation there was the rich Capitol and twelve poorer districts. As punishment for a rebellion in the past, each district must provide a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18. These children or tributes are selected by lottery (= the Reaping) for the annual Hunger Games. In total 24 tributes must fight to the death in an arena and only one is coming back.

In District 12, Primrose Everdeen (12) gets chosen in her first Reaping. Katniss (her older sister) volunteers to take her place in the Hunger Games. Peeta Mellark, a baker’s son who once gave Katniss bread, is the other tribute for District 12.

Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol with their frequently drunk mentor and past Hunger Games victor for District 12, Haymitch Abernathy (his task is to convince sponsors to sponsor his tributes). He warns them about the "Career" tributes (district 1 & 2) who train allot and volunteer when they are 18.

During a TV interview with Caesar Flickerman (the 74th annual Hunger Games host), Peeta reveals his love for Katniss. She is furious, believing it to be a plot to gain more sponsors. These give gifts to their favourites during the games. However, she discovers Peeta is honest.

The Games starts and half of the tributes are already killed in the first few minutes. Katniss barely survives because she ignored Haymitch's advice to run away from the tempting supplies of food and weapons in front of a structure called the Cornucopia. Peeta forms an alliance with the four Careers. They find Katniss and corner her up in  a tree. Rue the tribute from District 11, is hiding in a nearby tree and signs at a tracker jackers nest. Katniss drops the nest onto the 5 tributes. They run away, but Glimmer (the girl from District 1) is stung to death. Katniss, confused by the poisonous venom, is told to run away by Peeta. She eventually collapses. She wakes up to find that Rue has taken care of her for two days.

Meanwhile, the alliance has gathered up all the supplies. Katniss and Rue make a plan to destroy the pile of food and succeed. Furious, Cato kills the boy (from District 3) that is assigned to guard it. Katniss frees Rue from a trap. She dodges a spear thrown by Marvel (the boy from District 2), which strikes Rue. Katniss kills Marvel, then comforts the dying Rue. Afterward, she arranges flowers around the body. When this is shown on the television, it starts a riot in Rue's district (District 11).
The president of Panem, President Snow, calls Seneca Crane, the game maker, to express his disapproval. Haymitch convinces Crane to make a rule change to avoid further trouble (tributes from the same district can win as a pair). Katniss then searches for Peeta and finds him with a leg wound. An announcer announce a feast where the thing each survivor needs most will be there. Peeta begs her not to risk getting his medicine. Katniss promises not to go, but after he falls asleep, she heads to the feast. Clove (the girl from District 2) ambushes her and pins her down. When Clove brags about killing Rue she gets killed by Thresh (the boy from District 11). Thresh decides to spares Katniss because she took care for Rue. She goes back to Peeta and gives him his medicine.

They find Foxface (the girl from District 5) dead from eating Nightlock berries that she stole from Peeta neither being aware that they are extremely poisonous. Without warning, Crane darkens the arena and unleashes a pack of hound-like creatures to speed things up, causing Thresh's death in the process. Katniss and Peeta flee to the roof of the Cornucopia, where they are attacked by Cato (the boy from District 1). Katniss wounds Cato with an arrow and Peeta throws him of the Cornucopia. Katniss shoots Cato to spare him a painful death.

With Peeta and Katniss remaining, the rule change is suddenly called back. Peeta tells Katniss to shoot him, but instead she gives him half of the Nightlock she saved for Cato. Before they can commit suicide, they are pronounced as the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games.


Personal appreciation:
I read the first book when I was 10 and really liked the book. Meanwhile when I was getting older the obsession with the Hunger Games trilogy became even bigger and so I bought the 3 books and read them all in once.

When I heard that the Hunger Games was going to be made into a film, I started dreaming and fantasizing how they would do it and what information they would say and what not.

I really like the actors they picked for the characters and also liked the storyline and how they exactly filmed it. The only I think is bad about the movies is that they left important things out of it and if you never heard about the Hunger Games it is pretty difficult to understand the movie, but I would give it 4 stars out of 5.