Quite good considering limitations

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2012)

I had already prepared myself for the possible let downs (e.g. the fire entrance on the chariots and Katniss' back story in district 12) so considering those I thought the movie was quite well done.
Make up and costume really stood out to me and the addition of Caesar giving the audience hints as to what the canon meant etc. was helpful and tactful given we couldn't be given a constant Katniss voice-over.
Seneca Crane's death was well done too and despite the PG-13 rating, I felt no NEED for more violence.
Being a HUGE Peeta fan i was quite disappointed that the cave scene was not as great as I had played out in my head, but then again the movie had to be a certain length.
What was lost, as in many book to movies, was the essence of the book. I felt that much focus was on Katniss in the novel and when I read the book I felt more involved in District 12, in the hunger games. With the movie I felt like one in the Capitol and was not able to fully grasp the horrors and shock Katniss experienced as well as I did in reading the novel.
However I think the movie is a great complement to the book as it added a new dimension to the book instead of panning out everything I already knew. I am definitely looking forward to the following movies seeing as how the rebellion has already started so early on and hope that the chemistry between Peeta and Katniss is much more evident in the coming films!