The Hunger Games saga will return to cinemas with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel that serves as an origin story for the franchise's main villain, Coriolanus Snow. The film looks promising, assembling top talent, including Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage, and providing the perfect excuse to revisit the original saga, which holds up rather well.
Still, for all their strengths, the original films are flawed. They are surprisingly nuanced and insightful and feature some genuinely arresting turns by every member of its distinguished cast; however, they are also imperfect, including numerous parts that are undeniably cringe in hindsight.
He Made You Look What?
Woody Harrelson's Haymitch Abernathy is one of the main reasons for The Hunger Games breakout success. Irreverent but charming, Haymitch was arguably the film's most relatable character, a man who simultaneously knew everything about the Games yet struggled to understand them.
However, Haymitch has his fair share of cringe moments. Some are intentional because of his heavy drinking, but a few are accidental. In the first film, he tells Katniss that Peeta's comments about her made her look "desirable," much to her and the audience's discomfort. After all, Katniss is sixteen; no one wants to think of her as "desirable."
Caesar Flickerman
Academy Award Stanley Tucci is among the finest character actors of his generation. He plays a brief but memorable role throughout the Hunger Games franchise, the flamboyant and entertaining Caesar. Unlike other similar characters, mainly Effie, Caesar is not sympathetic, so his antics come across as obnoxious.
To be fair, Caesar is supposed to be cringe. He is a Capitol shill who doesn't care about the children being sent to their death in the arena. Still, Caesar becomes slightly unbearable the more he speaks, so it's perfect that he only has a couple of scenes per movie.
Peeta, The Rock
One of Peeta Mellark's greatest strengths is his painting and decorating ability. He is a very artistic boy, and his talents come in handy in the arena, especially when he wants to hide from others.
However, the scene where Katniss discovers him disguised as a literal rock is unintentionally hilarious. The idea of Peeta lying on the ground while people step on him shouldn't be as funny as it is. Peeta's makeup is impressive, but his willingness to hide by becoming a literal rock is absurd, especially when he could've chosen a multitude of other, less embarrassing disguises.
Peeta's Stupidity
Overall, Peeta is a very passive character, to the point of being a literal deadweight that Katniss has to carry around. He has few survival skills, meaning Katniss spends most of her time babying him so he doesn't accidentally get himself killed.
Peeta proves himself remarkably stupid throughout Catching Fire, forcing Katniss to worry about herself and him as well. Peeta taking the traditional damsel-in-distress role is an interesting subversion of the trope, but it ends up making him a frustrating and cringey character.
Gale's Entire Persona
Gale Hawthorne might be one of the worst characters in any teen dystopia. Brooding and self-important, Gale is constantly there, but is he necessary? Liam Hemsworth had strong chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence, but Gale never had a real connection with Katniss. The films always tell their audience that Gale and Katniss share an intimate bond, but they hardly ever show it.
It doesn't help that Gale is something of a creep. He is unnecessarily brutal and exhibits many dangerous qualities that the Capitol supporters show. It makes perfect sense that Katniss chose to get away from him; the real question is, why did she like him in the first place?
Those Wigs With That Makeup?
Despite all its flaws, The Hunger Games series is one of the best movie quadrilogies ever. It featured an excellent cast, an intriguing premise, considerable stakes, social commentary, and great production values. However, the series did feature some terrible stylistic choices, particularly in the hair and makeup departments.
Jennifer Lawrence's wig throughout the last two films was terrible. For starters, it's very noticeable and, at times, distracting. It's not as bad as Kristen Stewart's in Eclipse, but it's still lifeless. Tigris' makeup is also cheap-looking, in stark contrast with her otherworldly description in the books.
The Capitol Takeover
The series' climax occurs at the Capitol. As the rebels fight against the Peacekeepers, Katniss and Gale try to infiltrate Snow's mansion. However, there's no compelling reason for them to be there other than the film needing a "final battle" to sustain its existence.
Even so, the confrontation at the Capitol is rushed and uninteresting. At that point, the stakes aren't exciting anymore because Snow is all but defeated -- he even says so himself during his one-on-one with Katniss following the attack. Both Mockingjay films struggled to maintain momentum and the Capitol sequence proves how long the conflict has been spread out for dramatic purposes.
Coin's Final Speech
Julianne Moore is one of the best actresses of her generation. An Oscar winner with remarkable range and an enviable willingness to experiment with genres, Moore has delivered some of the most daring and memorable performances in modern history.
Alas, her talents are wasted in The Hunger Games franchise. Alma Coin is a boring character, and despite Moore's best efforts, she never comes across as a significant threat, especially compared to Donald Sutherland's President Snow. Coin's final monologue before her surprising death perfectly encapsulates her whole character; it's tedious, at times laughable, and always cringe.
The Epilogue
Katniss Everdeen was one of the most badass women in action. Her circumstances were tragic, and she didn't want to be a role model or a hero, but she still showed remarkable skill, drive, and resourcefulness, making her an instant cinematic icon. However, her life was full of misery; thus, it makes sense that she'd carry heavy scars from her experiences at the Games and during the war.
Still, the epilogue to the series, which shows her married to Peeta and with two kids, feels strangely out of place and character. Why would someone as self-aware and tortured as Katniss want to stay in District 12 and surrender to a life of conventionality? Katniss and Peeta were a cute couple, but her decision to stay with him and settle into domesticity feels unearned.
Splitting The Final Book Into Two Movies
There was no logical reason to split the final Hunger Games book, Mockingjay, into two movies beyond Lionsgate's shameless greed. Mockingjay doesn't have enough content to support two films, resulting in a first entry that feels weirdly anti-climactic and a second one that seems stretched to its limit. Furthermore, Katniss' passivity, already blatant in the book, becomes more apparent in the two films.
If any book deserved two films, it was Catching Fire. Mockingjay's plot was already somewhat lazy and uneventful, and splitting it in two only made its many weaknesses all the more noticeable.