Overall good, with some gaps

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2012)

Let me just start off that I am a fan of the book series. I find that they are so well written and I hoped that the movies wouldn't ruin it.
Cast- I thought that the casting was very well done. I was skeptical about Jennifer Lawrence being cast as Katniss, but overall she did a phenomenal job with the roll. Josh Hutcherson was perfect as Peeta. He had something about him that made him very similar to Peeta.
Pros- The sets were wonderful. District 12 was perfect, just what you'd imagine from reading the book. The Capitol was more extravagant than you could have imagined and the arena was perfect. The cornucopia was also perfect. Once again, the casting was great. The archery and the use of weapons was also quite well done. Rue's death was also done well. The scene with Katniss shooting the arrow into the apple in the pigs mouth was spot on. The first meeting with Rue in the trees with the tracker jackers was also very well done. The costuming was perfect; almost exactly what was described in the book.
Cons- The movie was a bit rushed at points. They didn't elaborate much on the experiences Katniss had at the Capitol. Also, the whole "star-crossed lovers" theme was almost completely lost, at that was a key point in the book. Another big problem was that in the movie, you really couldn't tell that the tributes were dehydrated and starving. That is a main part of the story and I'm not sure why the director didn't make that a key part in the story line. You also couldn't tell how sick Peeta was, I'm not sure if you'd even know he was sick from watching the movie. It would have been hard to follow if you hadn't read the book. They also rushed many of the tributes deaths. The whole story with Rue was rushed in the movie as well. Katniss' loss of hearing was also completely left out; I honestly don't really remember a huge explosion at all. The mockingjay pin was also given to Katniss in a different way. The story was not completely finished in the movie and you didn't know that the Capitol was angry with Katniss and Peeta.
I personally did love the movie and found it was a good portrayal of the book, but I feel the director could have done a better job. This movie could have been phenomenal and it wasn't. They left out a lot of violence and they took what should have been an R rated movie and turned it PG-13, so there was a larger audience. Any true Hunger Games fan would have rather seen it as an R rated movie, so not as many key points were left out and violence as well. I think it's a movie worth seeing, but it definitely isn't amazing. I hope that Catching Fire and Mockingjay will be done a little better.