the hunger games: catching fire

i watched the hunger games: catching fire for the first time since i was like fifteen today, because i reread the books (except a ballad of songbirds and snakes, i have to wait like two weeks) in anticipation of the new movie.

i always thought that catching fire was the weakest of the three books, and this reread kind of confirmed it. i made the argument last year that most trilogies could be duologies, and i stand by that statement - the quarter quell is not announced until 58% into the book, and they don't enter the arena until 72% in. you could make the argument that the first 58% is about the districts rebelling, and about the government trying to dampen the flames, except it's... not. sure, there is talk of rebellion, and district 13 is hinted at still being around, but it felt repetitive. it honestly felt like a waste of the first 50%, with just enough happening to make you think something is happening.

catching fire's main purpose is to introduce us to the other players in the rebellion - finnick, beetee, plutarch - and push the narrative of katniss being the symbol of a rebellion that she didn't intend to be a part of. i feel like it was used poorly - the majority of the opening is katniss arguing about staying or going, or her being inside her head worrying about things that happened fifty or so pages ago. none of this is to say that catching fire is a bad book - it's still enjoyable, just weaker than the others. in the others, there's constant motion, which catching fire lacked.

i do think that the movie redeemed it (the first 58% took up just over 40 minutes of the movie - a 2.5 hour movie - and they left out perhaps one scene), and it's probably one of the only times i'll say that i enjoyed a movie more than the book. it could just be because of sam claflin as finnick though awooga 

i think that the movie actually showing the dissent in the other districts and the worry of the capitol helped a lot with the narrative, rather than just seeing whatever katniss is. maybe that's why the book felt disingenuous - because we were just hearing katniss worrying about things happening rather than actually seeing them happen. also these scenes help build the characters of snow, plutarch, gale (do not get me started on that man, my god), as they now exist as their own people rather than just what katniss perceives them to be - especially with the gale scene during the interviews/the scenes with snow and his granddaughter.

i'll either watch mockingjay: part one tomorrow or monday. i can't remember what i thought of it when it came out, so it might be like watching it for the first time again :)