The Hunger Games films, ranked worst to best (including the new prequel)

2) The Hunger Games (2012)

The story which began it all!

It’s hard not to feel a deep love and affection for this film; it is, after all, the film which introduced us to this world and these characters. In The Hunger Games, we first meet Katniss and Peeta as they are flung from District 12 into the arena, forced to fight to the death against 22 other children.

We see the corruption in the Capitol, the suffering of the Districts, the way these children are treated as throwaway, unimportant objects by those in charge, and notably, we see the moment that some of these children (particularly one from District 1, a District supposedly favored by the Capitol) realize how disposable they are to the powers that be.

The cogs of revolution begin to turn thanks to the actions of Peeta and Katniss, who are framed as star-crossed lovers for the audiences of the Hunger Games. Their relationship begins as a propaganda tool, but we witness them falling for each other in real time (much as Katniss is in deep denial about it). This is a film which is packed with action, drama, stakes, and emotion, and it’s no wonder the world was hooked after it came out.