All 4 of The Hunger Games movies, ranked from worst to best
By Mads Lennon
1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in the top spot in our ranking. Not only is this movie widely considered the best of the franchise, but many movie fans agree that Catching Fire is one of the best book-to-screen adaptations ever.
Following the events of Suzanne Collins’s second novel in her acclaimed trilogy, Catching Fire follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they’re thrust into yet another Hunger Games. Considering the way Peeta and Katniss bent the rules to become the first double victors during the 74th Hunger Games, it was inevitable that President Snow would find a way to punish them. He implements a cruel rule change that will force all previous Hunger Games victors to re-enter the game arena to compete in the 75th Hunger Games.
Catching Fire significantly raised the stakes in every way, introducing us to more of the rebellion and beloved characters like Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) and Finnick Odair. It’s not just that Catching Fire delivered a compelling script and a great book adaptation, but the directing, production design and cinematography were all top-notch. In the 75th Hunger Games, the competitors entered a unique arena featuring 12 zones divvied up like a clock.
The first aerial view of the arena just seconds after Katniss witnessed the death of her beloved stylist and friend Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) was one of the franchise’s most pivotal moments. Jennifer Lawrence’s exceptional performance was a significant part of that as we watch Katniss process the horror of Cinna’s death, grieve, and then slowly accept that she has to do whatever it takes to save Peeta and get revenge on the Capitol once and for all.
One of the other high points of Catching Fire was the chance to see Katniss embraced by the other victors after a late-game plot twist reveals that Johanna, Finnick, and most of the others have a larger plan in the works, one that will finally take the fight to the Capitol.
Catching Fire is one of the best cinematic examples of the dystopian genre and the pinnacle of the YA dystopia trend we saw during the late 2000s and early 2010s. I’m not sure any other film from this specific genre could top it.