Attractive story but poorly made

Rating: 6/10 (14 September 2013)

I haven't read the Hunger Games book so I can't say if the adaptation has been a success.
The film had a very attractive beginning for me. A totalitarian state which still punishes its people for a rebellion committed many years ago. It reminded me of the world of George Orwell's "1984". The people of the districts will have to pay for their rebellion and live a deprived life while the people of the Capitol, Panem, live a life of plenty and extravagance.
Which reminds of another Orwellian element in the story: the ignorance in which people of the Capitol live. The whole frenzy of the people of the Capitol about the Hunger Games -- the deaths, the violence, the bets -- is out of their ignorance, and quite frightening.
The whole setting of the film and the story quite fascinated me and promised a very good film. But as it went on, it became more and more a teenager film with big flaws in the story and the characters.
As a whole, the film is entertaining and doesn't make you bored even at about two and a half hours. There are some good performances by Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland and Wes Bentley, not to mention the lead role played by Jennifer Lawrence.