Slightly disappointed

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2012)

I can't say I had super high expectations for this film, as I'd never read the books. But I was hopeful that it would deliver on thrills/suspense, and in this regard, I was slightly disappointed. The idea of teenagers in a contest to the death, though repugnant, is ripe with suspense - a potential mix between Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game (the original versions). The fact that many of them possessed special skills (spear throwing, knife throwing, archery) and such diverse views of the contest (some predatory, others almost pacifist) should have resulted in many hair-raising life-and-death moments. But, instead, the film seemed to defuse many of these moments with a choppy, almost disjointed approach in places.
Add to this the over-the-top ruling society in which this takes place, thus straining the story's credibility, and I found myself having to suspend belief a few times too many, which is never good when the goal is to draw the audience in and bring them to the edge of their seats.
On the other hand, the two main teen characters - played by Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson - were a lot stronger than suspected, which at least gave me an emotional stake in the story, which frankly saved the film from being a much bigger disappointment.
All in all, I'd say that if you rent this to watch at home, you'll probably be satisfied, but if you like to save your movie theatre dollars for only top films, you're better off to wait for the DVD.