Made for people who read the books.

Rating: 6/10 (8 April 2012)

Let me start off by saying that this movie is not garbage.
What I will say is that this movie was, as my title says, made for people who had read the books. Everyone I know that was excited for this movie had read the books, from teenagers to adults. I was one from the very small population of people who had never read the Hunger Games. I had never really planned on seeing the movie, either, but on the insistence of a friend and after seeing Wrath of the Titans (I had to wash the bad taste of that movie out of my mouth), I went ahead and bought tickets.
What I saw was a decent movie. The action sequences were a little boring and I wasn't exactly held at the edge of my seat. (I've seen more intense movies.) However, overall it was okay. But there were definitely moments when I felt like I needed to have read the book. For example, the story mentioned 13 Districts rebelling but only 12 Districts participated in the tournament. What was the deal with the three fingers hand sign?
Also there were some illogical moments in the movie. Why was Peeta able to throw a hundred pound steel ball yet not throw down the boy from District 1 in the end? Why wasn't the girl with throwing knives able to hit Katniss out of that tree even though she could hit a target at the center 20 feet away earlier in the movie?
I could definitely feel like the movie needed to be edgier and more intense. I'm not saying that there needs to be more blood and gore but I could definite feel like the film was glossing over the violence and intensity with shaky camera moves and such. I mean, there are definitely more intense PG-13 movies out there (Casino Royale, Jurassic Park...) and I just didn't feel any tension in this film.
So, overall, it was decent but according to me, someone who has not read the books, the film could use some work.