When The Hunger Games film was initially announced, I was really excited. The novel is packed with heart-racing action scenes, sublime settings, and a variety of moments promising stunning visuals. After all, the Hunger Games themselves were made for television. The sinister sport is layered with horror, violence, intrigue, and everything else thats guaranteed to draw an audience. If director Gary Ross couldnt depict a compelling story, then the Gamemakers were there to back them up. Of course, with Suzanne Collins story in hand, the odds were in their favour. Even with the novels to guide the project, adapting words to the screen is never a basic process. Film has its own unique challenges and limitations. This forces certain alterations, and many moments are doomed to be lost in translation. Nevertheless, the filmmaker is tasked with capturing the major characters and themes within the scope of the camera. Aspects can be changed to suit the medium, but the filmmaker should keep the big picture in mind - the integrity of the novels story, that is. Moreover, with Collins as a screenwriter and executive producer, she is capable of monitoring every change made to her work. And a lot of changes had to be made. The novel is delivered from a first person perspective, which film simply cannot offer. With authorial crossover, however, I was confident that every change would be calculated and beneficial. But I was wrong. Certain changes translated the novel to the screen, but other changes fundamentally hurt the story. For many of the driving themes in the novel, the author of Katniss story completely missed the mark. Im not providing a list of changes made in the film; like I said, there are lots. Instead, here are 8 things the film got wrong from the novel that ultimately tarnished major plots and themes...