Recently, The Hunger Games has gained more credit and recognition. I have watched the series about a dozen times, and each time I am drawn into the plot.
There are 5 total movies in this series, and in chronological order they go:
- The Hunger Games
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
In order, these are my favorite Hunger Games films and why:
- Catching Fire
Catching Fire is the second movie in the series and is by far my absolute favorite of the entire series. In this movie, Katniss and Peeta are reaped into the Quarter Quell during the 75th annual Hunger Games, and many new and very important characters are introduced. I think this is the movie where Katniss realizes she loves Peeta. There are so many emotional scenes that build their relationship
My favorite scenes in this movie are when Peeta gifts Katniss a pearl and they sit on the beach together where she confesses she can’t live without him. Another scene is the very beginning where the skills both Peeta and Katniss flaunt are emotional aspects that connect back to the first movie. In this film, Katniss and Peeta are separated by the capital, and Katniss fights for Peeta. This movie is tragically incredible and brings me to tears every time.
- Mockingjay Pt. 2
Mockingjay Pt. 2 is the last movie in the series, before The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This movie destroys me every single time I watch it. Katniss and Peeta are shown to be finally at peace, the Hunger Games are officially over, and we finally get a love confession from both Katniss and Peeta- they also have kids and live together in a peaceful life. The ending is by far my favorite of all time. After four movies of pure trauma and hardship, there is finally peace which is just everything both Katniss and Peeta deserved. My two favorite scenes in this movie are when Katniss tries to help Peeta recover his memory by telling him things that are real and not real. The other favorite is the ending where they are finally happy. This movie is incredible, especially if you’ve watched them all in order on the same night, there are so many emotions that captivate the entire story.
- Mockingjay Pt. 1
This movie is good, however, it just doesn’t beat the other two listed above. In this movie, Peeta gets saved by Katniss. When she attempts to free him it is revealed that he is hijacked and set up to attack and kill Katniss. Many tragedies occur in this screenplay which makes the movie just overall so sentimental. Katniss also becomes the Mockingjay in this movie, which makes her a very powerful character in the series. This movie is so good and is a good middle piece right before the ending.
- Hunger Games
This is the very first movie in the series, and, in my opinion, it is not as good as compared to the other movies in the series. In this movie, Katniss volunteers for her sister Prim when she is selected to participate in the Hunger Games. The first Hunger Games starts with Katniss and Peeta, both surprisingly surviving. They said they would “rather die than live without one another.” This movie is what creates the rest of the series, which makes everything connect and become so good.
- Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
This movie could’ve been good. However, I just did not like it as much compared to the rest. This movie is new and has completely different characters considering it’s the technical “first” movie. This movie is good in the sense that it’s the background information for the rest of the movies, but it didn’t have the same sense of emotional appeal as the rest did.
