Visually amazing, but hollow.

Rating: 6/10 (25 March 2012)

Spoiler Warning! I went into the film with such incredible expectations and as a huge fan of the book series. The film was good, but did not quite meet my expectations. I feel that as far as casting, direction, and effects it was pretty spot on. The way the movie was filmed added a lot of drama and suspense. I don't think a single person wouldn't have their heart pounding as Katniss raises up into the arena! I will definitely say that the movie up until the point of the Game starting cannon going off was spot on. The emotion and plot were almost exactly what were in the book. I wish the meaning of the Mockingjay pin had been explained and that Katniss' relationship with Peeta had been a little more developed. In the book she is a lot more conflicted on whether to trust him or not and in the film she just appears to not like him. Haymitch was also a little nicer than he was in the book. In the book you are never sure if he likes Katniss or not.
As far as the games were concerned: it just felt way too rushed. There should have been less scenes outside the arena and more focus on developing the characters within the games. There was no time to develop Katniss' relationship with Rue or even Peeta for that matter. By the end of the Games in the book, the reader is very convinced that Katniss really does love and care about Peeta but that she's just not fully aware of it. By the end of the games in the movie you really aren't convinced she cares for him at all.
The cave scenes were too short not because we wanted more romance... but because those are the scenes where Katniss' tenderness shines through and where you really get to know Peeta. The whole plot line with his leg was completely botched. He was supposed to have a gaping hole in his leg that required medicine to heal blood poisoning. He was supposed to be on death's door. Katniss' retrieval of the medicine was not as heroic if you didn't believe he was dying.
Finally the ending was just not dramatic! Peeta was supposed to be bleeding to death because of a wound from one of the mutts. They cut out my favorite scene when they are lifted into the hover craft and Peeta is whisked away for surgery. Katniss goes berserk, not knowing what's going to happen to him and you are really convinced she does in fact love and care about him. In the film he doesn't lose his leg, that scene is completely cut out, Katniss and Peeta don't appear scarred or as if they have been through anything traumatic. Their reunion is nowhere near convincing that they are in love. If I lived in the Capitol... I would not have been convinced.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. Not that I need violence to enjoy a movie, but the horror of the games just wasn't portrayed convincingly enough and just hope and pray they do an even better job with Catching Fire.