The best I could've ever hoped for

Rating: 10/10 (24 March 2012)

I read the Hunger Games about 2 years ago, and since then I have been obsessed with both them and the idea of the film. After reading other people's reviews and knowing the talented actors who were featuring in this film, I couldn't help but have very high expectations of it. It was even better than I expected. The acting of Jennifer Lawrence was amazing, she managed to keep all the parts of Katniss I loved, especially her fierce protectiveness over Prim and Rue. Josh's portrayal of Peeta was also good, although Peeta's charming character struggled to come through, though I think that was a problem with timing rather than Josh's acting. Other notable mentions are Lenny, Woody, Elizabeth and Liam, who were all great at their roles. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking of all the things that were missing, for example the Avox and Madge, but had to then keep reminding myself that it was a movie, and of course they couldn't fit every single part of the book into a 142 minute film, so if you think of it that way then you shouldn't be too disappointed. I hope in Catching Fire they find time to show Peeta's character a bit more, and explain about the Mockingjay's significance, but I think it did a great job at capturing the essence of the book. We weren't just shown scenes of Katniss and Peeta kissing, it had much more depth than I could have hoped. I felt the anger at the Capitol with Katniss, and the fear before the Games began, and have not been able to stop thinking about the Hunger Games since seeing it last night, and I think that is the important thing. Whether you've read the books or not, I'm sure you won't be disappointed with this film.