The World Should Be Watching

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2012)

As a fan of the books, I was a bit unsure going into the movie. After all, many Hollywood adaptions of my favorite books have in the past been bitter disappointments, and I have walked out of several book-to-movie adaptions grumbling about wasted money and time spent I will never have back. After seeing this, though, my hope in Hollywood has been restored. Yes, this movie has its flaws like all others, but overall, I was very impressed. Right off the start, they do a great job setting up the story and they easily throw the audience into this post-apocalyptic future. Jennifer Lawrence does a wonderful job portraying the lead role of Katniss Everdeen. As the movie goes on, you are pulled more and more into it. During the games, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. When it was finished, the audience clapped and left gushing about how thrilling the movie was. Though they did cut out some parts and change a few things, it wasn't anything I was about to throw a fit over. The changes and cuts were fine and I thought actually made the story make more sense. I laughed, I cried, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'd have to say this was definitely one of the better movies I've seen all year. However, I would have to say the movie may be a little more difficult to grasp if you haven't read the book. With any book-to-movie adaption, I always recommend reading the book first, and this was no exception. I went with a friend who hadn't read the books and once or twice she had to lean over and ask me to clarify a few things. However, she was impressed with the movie when it was over and immediately went to a bookstore afterwards to buy the whole trilogy. Another minor bone I have to pick with this movie would be the fact that the ending felt a bit rushed and the overall climax wasn't as thrilling as it was in the novel. The violence, too, was toned down a bit for a PG-13 rating, which is something I can understand in order to market the movie to a bigger audience. In any case, I loved it and would seriously recommend seeing this.