What 'Hunger Games' Missed in the Movie

This is a really fascinating article from Entertainment Weekly about what the Hunger Games left out in the film adaptation. It's become clear throughout most of the critical arguments that although the Hunger Games represents a successful Hollywood franchise, there has been some concern among most of the critics that the film did not put enough emphasis on the cruelty of the system in which Katniss and most everyone else lives under.

In the movie, these scenes are a lot of fun, but they’re somewhat… empty. The “audience” of the Capitol is mostly faceless people applauding. Even worse, the decision to focus so strongly on President Snow has the effect of dampening the satire. The great Donald Sutherland plays Snow as a combination of the Emperor from Star Wars and a James Bond villain. What we’re seeing, really, is a dramatic oversimplification of Collins’ moral universe. In the book, Katniss is the hero, and everyone except for her family is the villain. In the movie, Katniss is the hero, and everyone else is misguided, and Snow is the villain.